Absolution
by YoungStarsOwner
Summary: The search continues... Absolution is the sequel to Redemption, the story of a girl who found out her entire life was a lie. You don't have to have read Redemption in order to read Absolution. An adequate story summer is included.
1. Absolution

**Title:** Absolution  
Sequel to Redemption BUT you don't have to have read Redemption to follow Absolution, the summary is fine.

**Author:** Young Stars Owner

**Rating: **PG-13 (some chapters will be clearly marked as R)

**Cast:** All Cast Adventure

**Distribution:** Here, SD-1, -- anywhere else, please ask.

**Cast**  
Kat --Shiri Appleby  
Jack -- Victor Garber  
Sydney -- Jennifer Garner  
Irina --Lena Olin  
Vaughn --Michael Vartan  
Weiss -- Greg Grunberg  
Will --Bradley Cooper  
Sark --David Anders  
Sloane --Ron Rifkin  
Dixon --Carl Lumbly  
Marshall -- Kevin Weissman  
Carrie --Andrea Foreman  
Kendall -- Terry O'Quinn  
JJ --Jonathan Rhys Meyers  
Garcia -- Nicholas Gonzales

I am posting the Summary for Redemption as a refresher, because it ended on a cliffhanger and it has been a long time since many of my readers read it.

**Redemption  
Story Summary**  
When Sydney investigates new Intel regarding the The Covenant she discovers she has a 17 year old sister named Kathryn whom she never knew about. Irina faked her death when Kathryn was five and Kathryn spent the rest of her life in foster care in NYC. Sydney, Vaughn and Weiss save her from the Covenant. Kathryn was kidnapped because the Covenant thought she had knowledge about something called The Contessa. Jack and Sydney quickly realize that Kathryn isn't an ordinary teenager and was in fact being molded by Sloan to become an agent. Kathryn didn't know who Sloan really was, but he'd discovered her shortly after Irina left her. Sloan is currently in CIA custody. Jack discovers that Kathryn's father was an ex-KGB officer named Petrov Khasinau who died when she was four. He puts Kathryn in protective custody at a safe house. The safe house is attacked and all but Kathryn are killed. During a regression therapy session they learn that Kathryn has a lot of secrets. Her father whom they thought was Petrov Khasinau was really his brother Alexander Khasinau and during her years in foster care, she was abused significantly both sexually and physically and when she was twelve she gave birth to a baby. Kathryn's son is named Joshua and was adopted at birth as Sloan had arranged. Sydney shows Kathryn a picture of him and they decide to continue the charade with everyone that her baby died at birth in order to avoid any potential . Jack, Sydney, Sloan and Weiss are the only ones who know otherwise. Kathryn becomes good friends with Weiss. Kathryn participates in an operation in an undercover operation in Spain and Jack sees that she could become a very good agent. Kathryn is slowing building a relationship with Sydney. Sydney meets Irina and tells her what happened to Kat as a child and then Irina sends Jack a very important message Kathryn is really Katarina Madrid Bristow, his daughter. Kathryn is kidnapped and then reported dead. A funeral is held and she is buried. In actuality as the others quickly learn, her death was staged by the man who kidnapped her and who works for Petrov Khasinau, the man she thought was her father and thought was dead. Petrov Khasinau is after The Contessa. Kathryn tries to escape but a somewhat shocked Sark prevents her from doing so. Jack and Sydney locate Kathryn with Irina's Intel and they rescue her. She is found alive, badly beaten, but alive and saves Irina's life. For the first time since she was a kid Kathryn gets a good look at her mother. After returning to LA Kathryn reveals that she knows what the Contessa is. It's a purple diamond tiara. The Contessa is connected to Rambaldi and there exists a scroll 47, which they are now looking for. Jack and Kathryn (now going by Kat) make a connection and both realize that maybe there will be hope for them both. Kat is suffering psychologically due to the circumstances of her childhood and her desire to know her son and she is plagued by continuing nightmares. Vaughn, Sydney, Weiss, Will and Kat go to Russia to search for Scroll 47 in an old house owned by the late Alexander Khasinau. Kat encounters Irina and pulls a gun on her, but Irina gets control and shoots the others with a tranq gun so she can talk to Kat. Kat holds a lot of animosity towards Irina. After Irina leaves, they find scroll 47. The scroll is analyzed and reveals that the Chosen one has a sister and she is termed The Countess and she is the only one who can stop the chosen one from complete destruction. Kat is quickly recruited into the agency, much to Jack and Sydney's displeasure. While training at the farm Kat becomes friends with JJ Cruz, who later joins the team. After 8 weeks Kat returns home seemingly a bit older and decides to live with Jack. Sydney throws Kat a surprise 18th birthday party and Jack's gift to her is a new room in a new home; the house where Sydney grew up. Kat and Weiss are on a mission and she encounters Sark. They both realize that they know somehow they knew each other before meeting when Kat was kidnapped by Khasinau. Weiss realizes that Kat is hiding something. Meanwhile a search for a mole has been occurring and when Kat returns home she is arrested under suspicion of being the mole. She was framed and when she is being transferred to another facility the bus is attacked and she is extracted. The last thing she sees is a woman aiming a gun at Weiss.

**Chapter by Chapter Summaries**

Chapter One:  
Sydney and the team receive intel about the pending abduction of a 17-year-old girl from NYC named Kathryn Sullivan by the Covenant. Sydney thinks she looks a little familiar. Syd and Vaughn go to NYC break into her apartment only to find that she's already been taken. Syd finds an interesting photograph and shows it to Jack when they return. Turns out Kathryn's mother who was thought to be dead is really Irina Derevko. Kathryn's father Paul Sullivan supposedly committed suicide when she was four and her mother Alison Porter was killed in a Convenience Store robbery when she was five, after which she entered the Foster Care System and was emancipated at the age of fifteen.

Chapter Two  
Syd and Vaughn go to Bangkok where Kathryn is being held. They find her but she is not doing well as she was tortured and she is diabetic. Vaughn carries her out but they are attacked and Kathryn manages to save Vaughn by shooting one of the guards with a tranq gun but they get out safely. She does however punch Weiss knocking him out.

Chapter Three  
Jack met the team at the landing strip and they took Kathryn to the OP Center. While she slept in Jack's office, they learned that she was being tortured for information about something called The Contessa.

Chapter Four  
Kathryn meets Jack and he realizes that there is no doubt that she is Irina's daughter. He questions her about The Contessa but she has no idea what it is or why she was taken.

Chapter Five  
Kathryn tells Jack about the events leading up to her rescue and he convinces her to allow him to do some tests. Memory tests, IQ tests etc… The next morning, she sees and recognizes Weiss and goes to apologize to him earning the nickname Shiner. She sees a code Marshall has been working on for hours and tells him how to decipher it. She sees Jack talking to a woman. As she approaches them, they switch to Greek and finally she interrupts asking what they were saying about her mother.

Chapter Six  
Jack and Sydney explain to Kathryn that her mother was not dead, that she was really Irina Derevko, Russian spy extraordinare. They told Kathryn about her mothers past history and that she indeed was alive. Upset Kathryn ran out of the building and Sydney chased after her. Marshall told Jack about Kathryn's help in decoding the message. Syd and Kathryn have a heart to heart and she starts to loosen up a bit but when they go back to the office Jack ruins things as he demands to know who she is working for.

Chapter Seven  
Kathryn denies any wrongdoing and explains to Jack and Syd that her mother taught her how to break codes as soon as she could read at age two. She is fluent in over 40 languages. She began learning them as a young child. She explained that she got answers on the memory tests purpose so he didn't suspect her of cheating and they learn she has a photographic memory. Jack decides to place her in protective custody. As they are going to the cell, Kathryn sees and recognizes Arvin Sloan and Sydney and Jack realize that Sloan has known Kathryn existed for a long time.

Chapter Eight  
Jack tries to talk to Kathryn about Sloan but she is reluctant. Sloan has been kind to her for as long as she could remember. Jack explains his history regarding SD-6. Sloan found out about Kathryn after her mother supposedly died in the robbery and he came to see Kathryn in the hospital as she recovered from nearly dying. Sloan arranged for her to take all sorts of lessons and classes regardless of what foster home she was living in at the time. Jack realizes that Sloan had been training Kathryn to be a spy since she was six years old with plans to recruit her for SD-6. Jack informs her that she will be transferred to a safehouse that night.

Chapter Nine  
Jack sees Sloan again and Sloan informs him that Paul Sullivan Kathryns father was really a KGB Agent. Sloan denies any knowledge of The Contessa but hints at the fact that Kathryn is hiding some deep secrets.Weiss arrives at Kathryn's cell to take her to the safehouse, but first he takes her to a shooting range at Jacks request. Jack informs her that her father was really a KGB agent named Petrov Ravinski. He hands her a gun and tells her to shoot, she does and Weiss then takes her to a safehouse. Jack shows Kendall the target. She was a perfect shot and yet she said she'd never held a gun before.

Chapter Ten  
Jack contacts Irina seeking info about the Contessa. She claims not to know anything but she will look into it. When the agents on Kathryn's security detail fail to check in, Weiss, Jack and Vaughn go to the safehouse and find a bloody massacre. All their agents were killed and Kathryn was no where to be found.

Chapter Eleven  
Jack, Vaughn and Weiss look around the property for Kathryn and eventually find her hanging from the edge of the roof. Vaughn goes up and gets her down but her arm is broken and she isn't talking to any of them. They take her to Sydney's house where a doctor shows up and sets and casts her arm. Jack, Syd, Vaughn and Weiss watch the security footage and see Kathryn take down four armed attackers, presumably from The Covenant. Jack explains to Syd how Sloan was training her and that Kathryn must have been trained in firearms and other things at some point and then her memory was erased. He also reveals that Petrov Ravinski was unable to have children and he was really Petrov Khasinau, Alexander Khasinau's brother. There is a good possibility that Alexander Khasinau is Kathryns father, not Petrov Khasinau/Petrov Ravinski/Paul Sullivan. Kathryn breaks down blaming herself for all the agents deaths and when asked reveals that she has heard the name Alexander Khasinau before.

Chapter Twelve  
Kathryn tells Jack and the others how the day before her father committed suicide she heard him, her mother and a man named Alexander Khasinau aruging. She found her father dead in the bathtub the next day. Jack goes to see Kathryn later that night. She's supposed to be sleeping but she's not. Jack explains to her that Kendall and Lindsey want her to undergo a hypnotic regression therapy session and she agrees to it against Jacks advice. He tells her to go to sleep and she asks him if he would stay until she fell asleep and he realizes that she is scared to fall asleep. He agreed and sat beside her bed holding her hand all night long.

Chapter Thirteen  
Kathryn has her regression therapy session and everyone learns that Kathryn was abused and raped as a child while in Foster Care. She became pregnant at the age of 12 and Arvin Sloan arranged to have her baby adopted. She goes back to the night of the argument between her mother, father and Alexander Khasinau and they realize that her memories of the events were not correct. As a child Kathryn watched as Alexander Khasinau killed his brother and stated that it was he who was Kathryn's father, not his brother. When asked about The Contessa she tells them that she and her mother went to Russia and lived there for about a year after her father was killed. On her fifth birthday she remembers Alexander Khasinau showing it to her but she is unable to say what it is. She only saw it for a quick second. She tells them that she and her mother returned to New York and that the night of the robbery she went to the store with her babysitter. Alexander Khasinau was there with her mother and others and they accidentally shot Kathryn and Khasinau forced Irina to leave her behind. Jack finally stops the session and Vaughn takes Kathryn back to Sydney's.

Chapter Fourteen  
Jack shows up at Sydney's that night and explains their new arrangement. Kathryn would stay with Sydney providing she would attend sessions with Dr. Barnette and interview briefings with Kendall and Lindsey along with Weiss. Kathryn is having horrible nightmares and Jack results to drugging her to get her to calm down and sleep. For the second night in a row he sat in a chair beside her bed holding her hand as she slept.

Chapter Fifteen  
The next morning Sydney tries to talk to Kathryn about the therapy session but she refuses at first not wanting Sydney to know what she went through as a child. She reveals a little to Sydney and Sydney shows her a photograph of her son, his name is Joshua and he was adopted by a good family as Sloan had arranged. Sydney had gone to see Sloan after finding out about Kathryn's baby. It is decided that in order to protect Joshua they will tell Kendall and Lindsey that he died during childbirth. There aren't any hospital records so they are unable to verify anything. Will arrives home to Syds earlier than expected and is surprised when he is knocked out by Sydney?

Chapter Sixteen  
Syd arrives at home and finds Will unconscious. He wakes up and accuses her of hitting him. Syd can't find Kat and still out of it Will helps her look for her CAT. He finds Kathryn hiding under the kitchen sink holding a baseball bat. Sydney asks Will to stay with Kathryn for about a week because she has to go on a mission and her dad is in Switzerland. Will agrees but Syd warns him that she had Regression therapy and will probably have nightmares for quite a while. Three weeks later Syd comes back. She'd been injured on the mission requiring a hospital stay but she had forbidden anyone to tell Kathryn. Syd learns that Weiss has been sleeping in a chair beside Kathryn's bed every night as she sleeps better when he does. Syd goes to see Kathryn before going to bed and wakes up Weiss. Kathryn overhears their conversation realizing that everyone lied to her about Sydney's health and whereabouts during her mission. Two weeks later Kathryn gets her cast off and Jack blows up at her after finding out she agreed to help the CIA out on a mission to Spain and he has to go with her.

Chapter Seventeen  
Flashbacks reveal that Kathryn and Jack are going to Spain posing as a father and daughter from South Carolina, Alexia and Samuel Deveraux. Kat is a redhead with blue eyes posing as the fiancée of an undercover CIA agent who accidentally slipped up on his cover story when his boss got him drunk. Aidan MacGreggor is posing as JD Salenger. During a party the mission is to go in to his boss's lab download satellite plans and implant a virus into the computer. Jack is still angry with her for agreeing to go on the mission, as she is untrained. They get into an argument and Kathryn accuses Jack of being a bad father to Sydney and not to try to act like one to her b/c she doesn't need one. She accuses Jack of being a liar just like Irina.

Chapter Eighteen  
JD Salenger and his partner Paul Collins are awaiting the arrival of Alexia and Sam. JD/Aidan is surprised when they arrive to find out that Alexia is so young

Chapter Nineteen  
Jack explains the situation regarding Kathryn's non-CIA status to Aidan/JD. Ruggiero, Aidan/JD's sleezeball boss tries to convince Alexia to play the harp for the guests but Kathryn doesn't play the harp. She convinces Ruggiero that she's out of practice but might she play the violin for him instead. Aidan/JD and Alexia/Kathryn dance getting ready to make their escape. They get into a fight and Kathryn slaps him running off followed by Aidan and Jack. Paul Collins keeps Ruggiero from following. They break into the lab and download the satellite plans but Aidan/JD is unable to plant the virus. Despite everyone telling them to abort Kat who had seen the code has Marshall talk her through the firewalls and then manually types in the virus coding based on her photographic memory. It works but they are behind schedule and unable to avoid the security cameras. Aidan/Jake gets them to a room adjacent to the ballroom and they climb over the balcony but Kathryn slips losing her shoes. Aidan/JD pulls her up near breaking her arm. They get back into the party unnoticed the mission was a success.

Chapter Twenty  
On the plane ride back to LA, Jack watches Kathryn and Weiss sleeping and reflects on how much Kathryn was like Irina but she reminded him of Laura and how Irina's actions had damaged Kathryn's life forever. He flashbacks to the night before. Kathryn had a horrible nightmare and woke up screaming bloody murder about her foster father touching her. He didn't know what to do but Weiss managed to calm her down. Kathryn wakes up and changes out of her disguise reflecting on Alexia's goodbye with Aidan/JD. She wouldn't tell him who she was, but she got her first real kiss when he kissed her goodbye. Jack and Kathryn make small talk and she reveals that she's allergic to strawberries. She has a memory of the year she spent in Russia with her mother. All she remembers is the smell of ammonia and rubber gloves but she's not sure what it means. She also remembers a man who was nice to her. He gave her an Archangel, patrons saint of guardian angels medal. She thanks Jack for staying with her that night many weeks before when he slept by her bed because she was scared to go to sleep.

Chapter Twenty One  
Syd picks Kathryn up after her session with Barnette happy to find that she's in a good mood; the sessions with Barnette have been suprisingly helpful. Kathryn guesses that Kendall has a thing for Barnette, after she saw them together after her session. Syd tries to get Kathryn to talk about her past but Kathryn still refuses not wanting to ruin the relationship she is slowly building with her sister. Syd takes Kathryn to the ice rink and she and Vaughn and Weiss try to teach her how to skate. Sydney gets a surprise visitor while there, Irina who wants to talk to her about Katy. Sydney refuses to discuss her and finds out that Irina had no idea how Kathryn had lived for the past 12 years. Irina's informant had been misleading her. Sydney tells Irina about Kathryn's past and Sloan's involvement in her life and that Kathryn had a son who died. Irina reveals that when she and Kathryn lived in Russia for a year, unbeknownst to her, Khasinau had been training Kathryn with a more advanced version of Project Christmas. When Irina found out she took Kathryn and ran. Khasinau found her and the incident at the convenience store was an accident. Katarina Derevko (Kathryn's real name) was reported dead to KGB and K-Directorate because it saved her life. Irina plays the emotional card professing her love for both her daughters. Weiss interrupts and Irina gets away before he sees her. He tells her that her father called and had an allergic reaction to strawberries so he would be late the next day. Jack arrives home and finds a package on his doorstep. He opens it finding the book A Little Princess. He knows right away that it is from Irina and opening it she's written on the first page, "she has your spirit." He unfolds the piece of paper marking the page of chapter twelve and is stunned to find that it is a birth certificate, for Katarina Madrid Bristow. Kathryn is his daughter!

Chapter Twenty Two  
Jack reflects on Kathryn being his daughter, on how he is going to tell her and how she might feel about it considering she already hates him. Jack tells Sydney and then tells Kathryn the truth. Six years after "Laura Bristow" died, he was on a mission in Madrid when he'd gotten hurt. He had no memory of approximately three days during that time and Irina must have found him and slept with him. Kathryn denies the possibility that she is his daughter saying there must have been a mistake or a mix up of some sort. Upset Kathryn runs off. Jack stops Sydney from going after her. Dr. Barnette calls a little later when Kathryn doesn't show up for her session and they realize that she is missing. She had a tracer on her and they track it to Mexico but don't find her. She's been kidnapped. Kathryn awakens in a strange place from a drug-induced slumber. She recognizes one of her captors. He was the one who broke her arm when the safehouse was raided. He puts a gun to her head and despite her protests, he pulls the trigger.

Chapter Twenty Three  
Viktor Melnikov stands over the body of a young girl. She's dead; a bullet wound straight to the temple. In LA, it's been four days since Kathryn disappeared. Jack contacts Irina who begins looking for Kathryn from her end. Irina tells Jack to ask Sydney about her time in Russia. Jack does and learns that Kathryn was programmed to be a spy by Alexander Khasinau. The next day Dixon pulls Syd and Jack into his office. They've received Intel on Kathryn. Her body was found in Rome dead with a single bullet to the temple. They were also sent photographs and video footage of her murder. Kathryn is dead. 

Chapter Twenty Four  
Sydney and Jack go to Rome to identify Kathryn's body and bring her home. Vaughn is concerned about Eric who appears to be handling Kathryn's death a little too well considering he knew her better than anyone, even better than Sydney. 

Chapter Twenty Five  
Jack blames himself for Kathryn's death for not protecting her like he promised. He and Sydney reflect on their relationship with her. Weiss, unable to handle things well anymore goes up to the cliffs and remembers the first time he brought Kat there, after her first meeting with Kendall and Lindsey. He told her how his brother had committed suicide there and that he goes there when he needs to remember that life is worth living. After that he brought her there after every meeting she had with Lindsey and Kendall when she needed to unwind.

Chapter Twenty Six  
Irina remembers the time she took five year old Katy to the beach and how happy they'd been. She promised they'd go again but she broke that promise. The next day her daughter lay near death in a hospital and she was on a plane bound for Germany. She reflects on her relationship with Katy and Sydney realizing that leaving Kathryn had been harder than leaving Sydney and her feelings regarding Kathryn's hatred towards her and all the things that were never supposed to happen. She replays the events when Jack had met her in Rome and come to tell her that Kathryn was dead. Currently she was sitting disguised in a darken Sedan watching her daughters funeral. Sydney speaks at her funeral and so does Weiss. Jack was at the funeral but did not speak. He lowered her casket to the ground. Once everyone was gone to the wake Irina emerged going to the gravesite to say goodbye to her daughter. She gets a phone call from Sark who tells her that the details of her daughter's death have been exaggerated. She calls Jack to tell him that Kathryn is alive and all he says is "I know."

Chapter Twenty Seven  
Two Days Earlier  
Kathryn is on the run in some kind of house or facility where she is being held. After her argument with Jack and Sydney she ran out of the building and began walking. She was shot with a tranq dart and kidnapped. She was brought to Mexico then Rome and now Russia where she was questioned about The Contessa and tortured for information that she would not give. It was then that a man named Viktor Melnikov pointed a gun to her head, called her Katarina and pulled the trigger and she blacked out. She awoke hours later surprised to find that she was still alive. She manages to escape and take down several guards before taking off to try and find a way out. She's about to escape through an air vent when a gun is cocked behind her and a man calls her Agent Bristow. It's Sark! He's surprised to discover that the girl isn't Sydney. She passes out and he carries her back to Melnikov. Kat tries to escape again but Sark catches her, he thinks she seems familiar other than her resemblance to Sydney. Sark grills Melnikov about why he has Kathryn. Melnikov's employer wants to know about The Contessa and reveals that Kathryn failed the lie detector test. She does remember the Contessa. Kat is tortured by The Dentist. Sark is there only to make a trade with Melnikov. Diamonds for information.  
Three Days Later  
Vaughn, Will, Marshall and Weiss are called to the warehouse by Sydney, where she and Jack reveal that Kathryn is not dead. She'd been doubled somehow using Project Helix and her double was killed and attempted to be passed off as Kathryn but Sydney had noticed the day before the funeral that Kathryn was missing a scar. Their suspicions were confirmed when the received Intel from Irina about where she was being held. The Covenant was not responsible for her abduction. They form a plan to extract Kathryn without the CIA's knowledge because they would not have allowed it.  
Kathryn wakes up from being drugged unsure of where she is. She's in a bedroom dressed in clean pajamas. Someone walks in the room and she calls him Papa.

Chapter Twenty Eight  
Kathryn is surprised to see her Papa. She realizes something is very wrong when he asks Katarina, what the Contessa is. She thought she was safe but she wasn't. Papa was Petrov Khasinau who was supposed to be dead. Will and Weiss are going over the plans for Kat's extraction and Will tells him that Irina will be going along. Weiss is not happy about this but they trust Jacks intuition. Kathryn goes to see Petrov Khasinau and realizes that the whole murder/suicide was just a plan to get Irina and Kat in Russia. Kat claims that people will come looking for her and Khasinau shows her pictures of her murder and funeral. Khasinau shows her a doll named Mishca and says a nursery rhyme and suddenly Kat is in a trance. She was hypnotized as a child and the doll and nursery rhyme are the trigger to bring her back into the hypnotic state where she was no idea what is going on around her. Khasinau shows Melnikov footage of a four year old Kathryn completing a simulation holding a semi-automatic handgun. Under the hypnotic state she will do anything she's told but will only respond to the voice of the person who put her under. Once she's pulled out of the hypnosis she doesn't remember a thing. Viktor took her back to her room with the offer than if she told him what the Contessa was he would see that she remained comfortable though his offer insinuated other things. Kat's rescue team consisting of Sydney, Jack, Will, Vaughn, Weiss and Marshall wait for Irina. Once the plane is in the air Weiss confronts Irina with a gun to her head. If she makes one wrong move, he'll kill her himself.

Chapter Twenty Nine  
Kat is sleeping and awakens to find a drunk Viktor Melnikov on top of her attempting to harm her. She tries to fight him and scream but feels frozen and can't move, can't talk, can't breath. Khasinau arrives and pulls Viktor off her, he then puts her in a trance and leads her somewhere. Outside the rescue team is taking their positions. They are getting ready to go in when Will spots Kathryn on the roof walking along the narrow peak. Suddenly the person she's with swings her out holding her over the edge of the roof. A few minutes later he suddenly pulls her back in and they disappear from the roof. They're about to go in when a car pulls up and about twenty minutes later a man leaves. Kathryn is still inside and this time they go in. Melnikov is torturing Kathryn asking her where the Contessa is. Weiss finds her first, Melnikov was in the process of using shock therapy on her. Sydney took down Melnikov and as they make their escape Kathryn is shot in the leg. Jack carries her out but suddenly she pulls his gun and fires three shots. He looks over to see Irina in a heap on the floor but she stands up. Her mask is pulled up revealing half her face. (Irina was supposed to keep her mask on at all times so Kat didn't know her mother was involved.) Melnikov was about to kill Irina but Kat killed Melnikov instead.

Chapter Thirty  
The team is on their way to the safehouse. Irina arranges to be extracted before Jack's comes. Kathryn wakes up and pulls on Jacks face to see if he is real. She remembers Irina and tells her to take off her mask, Irina does. Irina tries to talk to her but Kat won't listen and tells Irina that she is not her mother, her mother died when she was five years old. Kat apologizes to Jack for calling him a bad father when they were going to Spain. Kat tells them all that Papa was responsible, that he had never died it had all been a plan to get Kat and Irina to Russia.

Chapter Thirty One  
They arrive at the safe house. Irina explains part of her reason for keeping Kathryn away to Jack. If she'd told Jack about Katy when she was born, they all would have been killed including Sydney. Irina tries to talk to Kat but she refuses. She asks Kat what she told khasinau about the Contessa and Kat denies telling him anything. She doesn't know anything. Jack takes the bullet out of Kats leg and sews her up. A helicopter comes and extracts Irina. She'd called Sark for the extraction and Sark reveals that Kathryn lied to Irina about knowing what the Contessa was. Kat failed the lie detector test. She does know what the Contessa is. Lindsey and Kendall meet the team at the landing strip in LA and are surprised to discover Kat is with them. They attempt to place her in protective custody following Devlins orders from before she went missing but she shuts them up by telling them that she knows what the Contessa is. They go back to the JTF. 

Chapter Thirty Two  
At the JTF the team is debriefed while Kat locks herself in Jacks office with a sketchpad and her doll Sophie and a glass of grape juice. Jack talked to Devlin and convinced him to cancel the protective custody order as long as Kat stayed with him. Kat then shows everyone the secret code hidden in her dolls dress and that the Contessa is part of the Romanov Legacy and it is a large rare purple diamond that has been fitted into a tiara. Jack takes Kat to his place and then finds that she was hurt far worse than she let on. She was whipped by a belt and beaten very badly. Her sides ache and it hurts to breath. Jack fixes her as best he can but tells her that she will have x-rays the next day. He asks her if they raped her and she says no. She goes to sleep and Jack wakes her the next morning. They have to go to the JTF, progress has been made on The Contessa.

Chapter Thirty Three  
Jack takes Kat to the JTF and she's worried about the reaction she'll get because half the staff went to her funeral. She sees Weiss and tries to talk to him but he doesn't hear her. Sydney takes her to Marshall's office so that she can meet Marshall and Carrie's baby. She was born the day of Kat's funeral and they named her Kate after Kathryn. Carrie asks her if she'll be the baby's godmother Sydney Vaughn and Weiss already agreed but she politely refuses unsure of how long she'll be around. Kat goes to talk to Dixon and Weiss bursts into Marshall's office. No one knows what they found out about the Contessa but Weiss overheard some agents brought in from Langley talking and they mentioned that The Contessa was connected to Rambaldi. In The briefing, Dixon introduces Kat as Kat Bristow. Kat is confused because Weiss has been avoiding her and wont even look at her during the briefing. Dixon briefly explains Kat's kidnapping and who was responsible and that she did know what the Contessa was. An analyst from Langley explains that they traced the Contessa back to the Romanovs. The Romanovs had it and it was cut into a diamond tiara. Before the Romanovs had it, it belonged to rambaldi. Analysis of Kat's doll Sophie, reveals that the material of the dress containing the code was manufactured during Rambaldi's lifespan and that coding is his. They only found one mention of The Contessa in Rambaldi's works. He referred to the diamond as "the Key" This triggers Carrie's memory who remembers that in Rambaldi's manuscript he made reference to the fact that the key would be explained in scroll 47 which they had assumed meant Page 47, the prophecy page. Now they realize that there is a scroll 47 out there. Kat sees Devlin and confronts him telling him that if he tries to lock her up again, she'll run and they won't ever be able to find her. Devlin confronts Jack with the knowledge that he knows Irina contacted him about Kathryn and wants to know if she had any part in Kats abduction (which she didn't). Jack meets Kat in his office and Kat asks if he is angry because Dixon called her Kat Bristow, she wasn't sure what she wanted to be called because she doesn't know who she is anymore. Jack tells her to get her coat; he wants to take her somewhere.

Chapter Thirty Four  
Jack and Kat are about to leave when Kat sees Weiss. She tries to talk to him but he blows her off. Jack surprises Kat by taking her to the cemetery in order to show her that her life as Kathryn Sullivan is over. She can be anyone else but she can't continue to be Kathryn as The Covenant thinks she's dead and it's best if it stayed that way. Kat finds a bouquet of blue roses at the gravestone and they suspect that they are from Irina. Jack tells her that he understands how it feels to be betrayed and deceived by Irina and that she doesn't have to accept him in her life as her father but she does have to accept the fact that he is her father. Instead of taking her back to the JTF, Jack takes her to the carousel where he and Laura/Irina used to bring Sydney as a child. She asks him what he wants from her, as his name on her birth certificate doesn't make him a father. He asks for a chance to earn her trust again, not as Sydney's father but as her own. Jack tells her about why Irina changed her identity and left her in NYC, how Alexander Khasinau had tested a more advanced version of project christmas on her. He told her that Irina was the one responsible for her rescue and Kat told him that a Mr. Sark who was uninvolved in her kidnapping had been with Melnikov for a short while. Kat tells him that he reminds her of Mr. Caldwell and that she doesn't hate him, but she was jealous of Sydney and his relationship because she'd never really had a father growing up. They start to leave but Jack stops her and asked why she lied to him the night before when he asked if she'd been raped while in Melnikov's custody.

Chapter Thirty Five  
Kat tries to deny that anything happened but Jack won't believe her. She finally tells him that Melnikov was drunk and tried to but Petrov Khasinau pulled him off her. She tells him that she gave up and couldn't fight him. She was ashamed that she was going to let it happen. Everyone thought she was dead, no one would be coming to rescue her, so she stopped fighting. She's crying and calls him Daddy and apologizes for giving up on him. Jack realizes that she's slowly beginning to break down the protection walls she'd built up around herself. Jack asks her what she told Petrov Khasinau about The Contessa. She told Jack that there is a lot that she doesn't remember. She has no recollection of Khasinau taking her up on the roof of the building, all the sudden she was just there and he was holding her out over the edge, demanding to know about The Contessa. He told her if she didn't tell him, he would have Sydney, Will and Vaughn killed right then and there. Not knowing it was a bluff, she lied and told Khasinau that The Contessa was a book. Kat asks Jack if she can see Arvin but he refuses at first but then relents and says that he'll see what he can do. She tells Jack that she remembers being Katarina and wants to be her again, Katarina Bristow. As they get ready to leave Jack gets a call from Sydney asking if he's seen Weiss because no one can find him. Kat asks Jack to take her somewhere before they go back to the JTF.

Chapter Thirty Six  
Jack takes Kat to the cliffs and leaves her there with Weiss. She asks Weiss what's going on, why he's giving her the brush off. Weiss tries to deny it and eventually explodes. He's ashamed because he really believed she was dead. She tells him that she understands how he's feeling and that he's her best friend. He never judges her or has expectations. They hug and Weiss realizes that the feeling is mutual, she's his best friend too. He finds the bandage on her back from the whippings. They sit on the bench for a while longer and joke about finding Weiss a girlfriend.  
In Italy Sark is thinking about Kat. She impressed him with her ability to stand up to Melnikov. She reminded him of the Sydney, he had known before her double agent status had begun to take effect and before the murder of her best friend Francie Calfo. He decides that soon he will contact a Covenant mole within the CIA, but not just yet. 

Chapter Thirty Seven  
Back at the JTF Vaughn finds a lead. Before his death Alexander Khasinau rented a safety deposit box at a bank in Cairo. It supposedly contains documents and there is a good chance it contains Scroll 47. Kat and Weiss come back and Jack orders Kat to go to Medical Services. He talks to Weiss asking if there is something going on between Weiss and Kat. Weiss protests the insinuations that their relationship is unethical. Jack asks what Weiss does to calm Kat down when she's having a nightmare. After much prodding Weiss finally gives in and tells Jack that he sings to her. Jack gets called to Medical Services where Kat is giving the doctors a hard time about taking her blood. Later at Jack's apartment Kat gets a package of old photographs from Irina and angrily trashes Jack's kitchen. After cleaning up Jack goes to check on Kat and finds that she broke into a locked drawer in his desk and was looking at an old photograph of him and Laura. Kat asks if he's still in love with her.

Chapter Thirty Eight  
Kat accuses Jack of still being in love with Irina and of having forgiven her. Jack denies it and Kat tells him that she remembers seeing the photo before. When she was three, before her Papa supposedly died she found the picture in her mothers room. Irina told her never to tell anyone about it that it was a special man whom she would meet someday. Papa (Petrov Khasinau) wasn't around much and Kat used to sneak into Irina's room look at the picture and pretend the man in the photo was her father. Kat baits him for answers but Jack won't give in and tells her to stay out of his personal life. Kat tells Jack that Marshall and Carrie asked her to be their baby's godmother but she refused because she may not be around much longer. Jack tells her that she needs to continue to make plans for her future and asks if her hesitation has to do with Joshua. It does and Jack tells her not to dwell on him so much, he's safe and happy and someday she will have other children. Kat argues that she won't be able to have other children and Jack knows this. She is unable to have any more children due to the damage she suffered as a child. Jack tells her not to give up hope and says goodnight.  
Sydney and Vaughn are in Cairo attempting to recover Scroll 47. They break into the banks safety deposit boxes and find Alexander Khasinau's box, #47.  
Jack wakes Kat up from a terrifying nightmare, in which she killed Jack and Sydney. Unable to get her to calm down he eventually resorts to singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.  
Sydney and Vaughn open the safety deposit box. Scroll 47 isn't there, only a bunch of coded papers.

Chapter Thirty Nine  
Kat has a meeting with Barnett the next day but she refuses to talk to her. Barnett can't figure out what changed in the span of one day. Kat's very angry and won't say a word. Carrie shows up to take Kat to lunch and asks her again to be Baby Kate's Godmother and Kat accepts.  
A week later nothing has changed. Kat still refuses to talk to Barnett; she's angry and tempermental. Sydney asks her to examine the codes she and Vaughn found in Cairo to see if she can decipher them. Jack finds some disturbing drawings Kat made of knives dripping with blood. Another imaged he guessed to be Sydney and himself tied up with blood all over them and a woman holding a bloodied knife. He makes an appointment to see Dr. Barnett the next morning.  
Later that night Jack wakes up to find Kat missing from her bed.  
Weiss is woken by someone ringing his doorbell and he is surprised to find Kat there upset, barefoot and freezing. He calls Jack and finds out that Kat snuck out. Weiss tries to find out what happened to Kat but she's not forthcoming. He finally gets it out of her that she's tired of all her nightmares. Everyone else thinks they've stopped but they haven't. Kat hasn't slept through the night since she was six years old. Weiss tells her that they'll figure it out and they'll get the nightmares to stop. Kat decides she made the right decision by leaving Jacks. She can't stay so close to him or Sydney right now. Weiss asks why she came to him and she says that she tried to think of the one place she felt the safest, and that was where he was.

Chapter Forty  
Jack goes to Weiss' apartment the next morning. Kat still hasn't told Weiss why she took off. Weiss tells Jack that Kat's nightmares have never stopped. Jack tries to talk to Kat but she ignores him and he tells her that he won' play her games. He tells her not to ever leave without telling him again. Jack leaves and Kat explodes at Weiss for telling him her secret. Weiss blows up at Kat and telling her to stop trying to do everything herself and let people help her. Everyone is worried about her, one minute she and Jack are getting along better and the next she can't stand the sight of either him or Sydney.

Chapter Forty One  
Jack and Sydney meet with Barnett regarding Kat's drawings. They decide that her recent change in behavior is due to the dream that she had where she killed Sydney and Jack. Barnett explains that over the years Kat has developed coping mechanisms to deal with her nightmares such as forcing herself to wake up before she screamed. She also explains that although Kat is very much grown up in years and experience, she is also very much still a child as she's never learned how to trust people and because she had to grow up so fast, she skipped many stages of emotional development. Kat shows up for her appointment with Barnett and is angry with Jack for going through her belongings and finding the drawings. She confesses that she was so distant from Jack and Sydney because she was afraid that she might hurt them. She's afraid that she'll loose them. Jack asks her to trust him again and she decides to give it another shot. Jack takes her home and she goes to sleep. When she wakes he is packing to go on a trip. She reveals to him that the coded documents Syd and Vaughn found in Cairo were written by her. She knows this because of a notation on each page, four symbols which stand stands for Katy but she still doesn't know what the documents say. She asks Jack to hide all the sharp knives because they make her nervous and Jack tells her that in the morning before he leaves, he's going to take her to see Sloane.

Chapter Forty Two  
Vaughn asks Weiss if there is anything going on between him and Kat and Weiss denies it. Vaughn explains to him about Kat's dream of killing Jack and Sydney and that's why she was such a pain in the ass. She was trying to scare them off.  
Kat decodes the pages Syd and Vaughn found in Cairo. The documents reveal an address in St. Petersburg, Russia, a key code to a vault and the words to the Jack and Jill nursery Rhyme. Syd, Vaughn and Weiss check with their contacts and begin to spec out a mission with hopes that the address and code would lead to Scroll 47. Syd and Kat make plans for a girls night in that night.

Chapter Forty Three  
Kat and Syd have a girls night in. They discuss first kisses and a certain Agent Aidan MacGreggor. Kat and Syd discuss love and how Syd knew she was in love with Danny and how Kat is afraid she might miss out because she's afraid to trust guys. Kat tells Syd that despite all the craziness she is happy. She also tells Syd about her meeting with Sloane. Sloane didn't give Kat any information, rather he taunted her, twisting her words making her angry until she let it slip that Jack was really her father. Jack shows up having come back early from his business trip and has a present for Kat. It was a little kitten. He also brought Sydney poetry books and Kat her two favorite books Anna Karenina and Les Miserables. Kat asks him to stay and watch the movie with her and Sydney. Jack and Sydney go into the kitchen and Syd tells him about Kat solving the code. Jack is angered to find that Kat ignored her food intake and ended up to be hyperglycemic as a result of too much sugar. Vaughn calls and Syd goes to answer the phone. Kat names her kitten Oliver. Kat and Jack talk for a while and she asks Jack if she can call him Dad, which he of course says yes. Syd returns to the living room to find Kat asleep, her head in Jack's lap. She tells Jack all the intel was verified and in the morning she, Vaughn, Weiss, Will and Kat were going to St. Petersburg.

Chapter Forty Four  
Jack is at the communications center back in LA anxiously awaiting contact from the team in St Petersburg. Communications had been cut off twenty minutes before and they hadn't heard anything since. Vaughn finally contacts them and tells him that they were all shot with Tranq guns and Kat is nowhere to be found.  
Forty Minutes Earlier  
The team infiltrates the house in St. Petersburg. Will and Kat stick together and Kat is surprised to find a vase of fresh cut daisies. Will turns around and Kat is gone and they can't contact her. Marshall realizes that she's purposely turned her com link off. Will tracks her movements and goes up to the third floor. As he opens the door he sees her standing in front of him holding a silver .48 gun. Kat cocks the gun and warns Will not to come any closer.

Chapter Forty Five  
The rest of the team go to the third floor and enter the room stunned to find Kat pointing a gun at her mother. They tell her to put the gun down but she won't. Syd turns Kat's com link on hoping Jack can get her to put the gun down. He can't and Kat turns the com link off. Irina challenges Kat and she is beginning to loose control and is about to pull the trigger.

Chapter Forty Six  
Irina got the gun away from Kat and shot the others with tranq darts. She grabs Kat and takes her into another room handcuffing her to a chair. Irina and Kat have a confrontation. Kat tells Irina a few bad stories of her growing up and accidentally tells Irina that she got pregnant. Irina warns Kat to stop looking for the scroll. Irina clarifies some of Kat's memories and tells Kat that just before she took Kat and left Russia, she came home early and found Kat. There was something wrong with her she appeared to be almost sleepwalking and there was blood all over her hands. Kat realizes that Irina must know something about scroll 47. Irina tells Kat that she loves her, and then leaves.

Chapter Forty Seven  
Vaughn, Syd, Weiss and Will wake up and go in search of Kat. They find her. They go back to search for the scroll but Kat tells Sydney that it was never there. Irina got there first but the scroll was not in the safe. Kat goes into a room that she remembers as being her bedroom when she lived there. She takes a painting off the wall and realizes that it's a scene from Jack and Jill. Will takes the painting apart and they find Scroll 47 hidden in the back.  
Back in LA, Jack takes Kat to the gym laces up boxing gloves ordering her to hit the bag as an outlet for her anger. Kat gets harsher and stronger and eventually begins to loose control and Jack pulls her away before she hurts herself. They are called back to the office after analysis has decoded Scroll 47. Scroll 47 is a prophecy. It's The Countess Prophecy by Rambaldi.  
Rambaldi prophesized that a girl to be called The Countess is the only one who can stop The Chosen One. She will be forced to make difficult decisions and use The Countess to choose between the path of good and the path of evil. Either path will bring with it a great sacrifice.  
Kat bursts out laughing unable to believe the ludicrous situation.

Chapter Forty Eight  
Kat sneeks away from the briefing room. Lindsey finds her and calls her into his office. When she comes out she goes to talk to Jack and tells him that she made a deal with Lindsey and with the CIA. She had to choose between protective custody and recruitment and she chose recruitment. Kat tells Jack that she loves him and says good bye.

Chapter 49  
Jack is royally pissed off when he discovers that both Devlin and Lindsey were in on the plan to recruit Kat and he realises that her decision to join the CIA wasn't as forced as she led him to believe. Kat wanted to join. He also learns that Devlin had Kat's guardianship transferred to himself behind Jack's back. Jack realises that Kat joined the agency mostly for revenge against her mother. Two weeks later he receives a letter from Kat explaining her decision to join the CIA despite it being against his wishes. Part of her reason was for revenge; another was to pay back what others had lost. She thanks him for sticking by her through everything and giving her a chance to make something of herself. She also asks him to stop excessive drinking. After finishing the letter, Jack went to the kitchen and soon felt a gun pressed against his neck.

Chapter 50  
The owner of the gun is Irina wanting to know where Kat disappeared to. Jack pins Irina against the couch and questions her knowledge and involvement regarding The Contessa. They kiss until Jack breaks it off and tells Irina where Kat is and tells her that he screwed up regarding Kat's legal custody. He gives Irina Kat's letter to read. After reading the letter Irina finds Jack looking at drawings Kat had made. She sees one of a young boy and asks Jack if Kat's son Joshua is really alive.

Chapter 51 Part 1  
Jack confirms that Joshua is alive and that just about everyone thinks that he died at birth. Irina is delighted at the knowledge that she is a grandmother but Jack quickly quells it reminding her that Katarina is not Joshua's mother anymore and that they are also not his grandparents, because he has parents and grandparents who love him. Irina tells Jack that she knew about the Contessa but had been searching for three years for evidence that Kat either was or was not The Countess and she had no knowledge of Scroll 47. Irina tries to talk to him about something important but he distracts her and they sleep together.

Over at the Farm, Kat is in CIA training. Most of her fellow trainees don't like her and protest her training. They think she's too young and small with the exception of JJ Cruz who recognises her talent. They know her as Amanda Scott age 21, until another recruit Anna Myers discovers her true identity.

Chapter 51 Part 2  
Jack and Irina lay in bed after making love and Irina tells Jack that she needs to tell him something important, but instead asks Jack to tell her about Katarina and he complies. He gives her a picture of Sydney and Kat and they fall asleep. He later awakens to find Irina gone and 'Truth Takes Time' scrawled in red lipstick on his mirror.

JJ Cruz finds Kat training late at night and confronts her about the scars on her back and about Kathryn Sullivan/Katarina Bristow. She explains that she was under orders by Director Devlin to keep her identity a secret and she tells him who she really is Jack Bristow and Irina Derevko's (The Man's) daughter. She also reveals that she is really only seventeen years old. Kat and JJ forge a friendship.

Chapter Fifty Two  
Sydney visits Kat at the training centre. She meets with Sam, the SD-6 trainer who trained her and was recruited into the real CIA as head-trainer at Jack's recommendation. Sam immediately asks Sydney why the CIA, specifically Devlin tried to fool him by changing Kat's name. Sydney observes Kat training while JJ spots her on the uneven bars and is a little surprised at how good she is. Sam explains that he has been ordered to train her harder than anyone and that while everyone else is on free time she trains of her own volition. The other recruits didn't take too kindly to her real identity with the exception of JJ who has always treated her equally, unlike the others due to her age and physical stature. Sydney gives Sam a little history on Kat and that some people are after Kat. Sydney decides to fight Kat herself and she fights her blindfolded. They pin each other a few times until Sydney gives in. Kat is shocked to find that it's Sydney she has been fighting. After learning that training is going well and Kat is just homesick, Sydney takes her to dinner.

Chapter Fifty Three  
About six weeks after Sydney's visit to The Farm, Kat returns home looking and seeming slightly older than when she left. After catching Sydney and Vaughn in an awkward position she goes to Jack's apartment deciding that she wants to live with him for a while and falls asleep outside his door waiting for him to get home. Both Vaughn and Sydney have noticed that despite being happy to be home, Kat also seemed a little sad. After Kat is in bed, Jack sees her sketchpad and realises what is bothering her.

Chapter Fifty Four  
Weiss gets an interesting wake up call when he finds Kat sitting on his stomach. She broke into his apartment and rewired his security alarm. It's her last two days of freedom before officially starting work at the CIA and she wants to spend it with him. She wants him to take her to the beach and finally he agrees. Weiss takes her to breakfast and notices that there is something "off" about her. When he sees her watching a little boy he realises what it is. At the beach, Kat and Weiss are building a sandcastle. Kat runs off for more water and is distracted helping a couple of small children fill their buckets. Jack shows up and speaks with Weiss asking him if Kat can stay with him for a few days because Sydney, himself, Vaughn and Will will all be busy, but he's telling Kat that they will all be out of town. Kat comes over and Jack asks her to take a walk and she agrees. Jack tells her that she seems older now and she denies that anything has changed. Jack tells her that he and everyone else will be going away for a few days and he tells her that he knows what today is. Kat pretends not to know what he's talking about. Jack tells her that he knows she is drawing "him" again and that she shouldn't dwell on him because it was only making her miserable. Kat is upset at his words and runs off. Jack follows and explains to her that he's not asking her to forget "him" but by dwelling on him she was only hurting herself and that she will still love "him" even if she's not always thinking about "him". Kat explains to Jack that she's not even sure if she loves "him" or if she only thinks she does because she knows she's supposed to. Jack tells her that there is no right or wrong answer to her question and asks her to try and put the past behind her so she can move on with her life and be happy. He leaves and she goes back to building sandcastles with Weiss.

Chapter Fifty Five  
That night Weiss takes Kat to a fair with Will, Carrie and Marshall, but she is depressed and distracted and not having a good time. Will is concerned about Kat's behaviour and asks Weiss what's wrong but he won't say anything. The next thing they know Kat has disappeared. Will thinks she might have taken off on purpose but Weiss counters saying she might not have even been aware that she'd walked off as she'd been a sort of daze all evening. Weiss nearly reports her missing to the CIA but then spots a vendor selling red helium balloons and knows she must be nearby as she's spent most of the afternoon drawing red balloons on a pad of paper. He spots her buying a balloon for a small blond haired boy. Angry, Weiss approaches her and tells her never to run off like that again and she punches him. Weiss apologises for yelling at her and they argue until Kat breaks down crying. She tells Weiss that Jack says she was obsessing over "him" and she admits that "he" is all she thinks about. Weiss tells her that it's normal, after all "he" is her son and she loves him. The "he/him" that they've been talking about is Joshua, her son who was put up for adoption when she was thirteen. Today is Joshua's fifth birthday/ She confesses to Weiss that she's not sure if she loves "him", she's not sure if she is capable of loving anyone but Weiss tells her that she does love him. Love is a basic human emotion innate in everyone, but some people show more than others do. Kat tells Weiss the truth of his birth and he makes the suggestion that she write Joshua letters of everything she wants to tell him, even though he won't ever read them. Kat wishes on a shooting star before she and Weiss return to the fair. The next night Will is taking Kat to see a show but they have to stop off at The Restaurant 'Francine's' which his sister Amy is reopening. As they enter the restaurant "SURPRISE"

Chapter Fifty Six  
"Surprise" It's a surprise birthday party for Kat. Kat is a little surprised because she doesn't think it's her birthday but Jack explains that according to her original birth certificate, her birthday is the next day, not two months prior like she thought. Kat quickly greets everyone and is shocked when Weiss introduces her to his new girlfriend Lisa, whom he hadn't mentioned. Jack sees this and sees the hurt in her eyes. He tries to leave but Kat stops him and asks him to stay telling him that if he thinks she's still angry at him because of their conversation on the beach, she's not and she wants him to stay. She also tells him that she knows she loves Joshua and she is going to try to move past it and get on with her life. Jack ends up in an awkward position holding Marshall and Carrie's daughter Kate. Weiss talks to Sydney and reminds her that because Kat and Joshua's birthdays were really only a day apart; Kat was in fact only 12 when she had him. He also finds out that Sydney hasn't ever talked to Kat about Joshua, nor has she told Vaughn that Joshua is alive. Kat joins them followed by Will. JJ, having been transferred to LA to work at JTF surprised Kat and calls her Baby, a nickname she obtained after they watched Dirty Dancing at The Farm. He tells everyone about Kat's undercover exercise as a nightclub singer at The Farm. Jack takes great delight in depositing Baby Kate on Vaughn's lap. Despite Kat's objections they convince her to sing. She sings "Can't Hurry Love" "Good Mother," changing the word mother to father or sister offering more meaning to Jack and Sydney and to her life. Jack and Sydney quietly discuss Kat's hatred of Irina and Jack informs Sydney that Kat is more scared of turning out like Irina, than she actually is afraid of her. After Kat is finished singing, Sydney gets her, as they will cut the cake in a few minutes and briefly questions her about her relationship with JJ. To Sydney's surprise Kat informs her that JJ is gay. After cake, she opens presents and receives a stationary set from Weiss, a Faberge carousel from an unknown person and a key on a string from Jack and Sydney. Jack takes Kat home and in the car questions any new memories. She only has one, the name Mishca. Kat doesn't recognise the surroundings and asks Jack where they are going. She falls asleep before hearing his answer of "Home." When they get "Home" Kat's asleep and Jack carries her out of the car, but a nosy neighbour interrupts him. Kat wakes up and is confused having no idea where they are. Jack instructs her to open the front door of a house using her key. It's the house that Sydney grew up in. Kat explores the house finding an office for herself, her musical instruments, and a newly decorated bedroom. She plays moonlight sonata on the piano but stops halfway through and tells Jack that it was Irina who sent the Faberge Carousel. She asks him if he hated her before they found out she was his daughter and he tells her the truth.

Chapter Fifty Seven  
Weiss and Kat are on a simple reconnaissance operation and Kat thought she might have recognised one of Viktor Melnikov's guards so they dye her hair red just in case. Weiss notices that Kat is "off" and quieter than usual but she tells him that nothing is wrong and questions his trust. Kat slips away from the party and heads to the meeting she will be spying on. Kat takes pictures of the two men and is made. She runs and is chased by both men. She is caught by one and fights with him. Weiss is outside in the security van and goes after her. The team at the JTF recognizes Sark, but it's too late for Kat as he gets control and points a gun at her. He wants the camera and Kat is having difficulty concentrating. She moves to hand him the camera but begins a Shakespeare quote. She sees that Sark is having a reaction to her words and she calls him Julian. He calls her Katia and her communications link to Weiss and baseops is severed.

Chapter Fifty Eight  
Sark suddenly realizes why Sydney seemed familiar years before he met her younger sister and realizes that Kat is the young girl from his recent dreams of when he was a child. Kat hugs him and is confused and crying, unsure of what is going on and she asks Julian to tell her. He doesn't, instead he walks away. The baseops team has video surveillance footage so they saw what happened but Kat turned off her com link so they couldn't hear. Weiss runs into Sark, they fight and Sark knocked Weiss down, running off before he can get back up. Weiss finds a photograph Sark dropped and picks it up before going in search of Kat. He finds her alone and unharmed. In LA Jack is having trouble believing what happened between Kat and Sark and that Kat willingly let him go. Weiss and Kat are on the plane going home. Kat has been avoiding him and prior to their flight home he heard her crying in the hotel bedroom for hours. He watched the security footage on his laptop and is wondering what Kat is hiding from him and he feels really hurt watching Kat hug Sark, the enemy. They talk and Kat shocks him by telling him that she knows Julian would never hurt her, but she's not sure how or why or when she knew him. Weiss warns her of a probable investigation into her actions. He shows her the picture he found on Sark and Kat identifies the girl as herself, but asks him not to tell anyone about the picture. Kat sits with Weiss and he comforts her and she tells him that he is her safe place. Kat is asleep when they land and Jack comes on board to talk to Weiss. He explains that the NSC is on a mole hunt and due to the failed operation and Kat is becoming the center of the mole hunt in addition to her behaviour changes since returning from training at The Farm. Kat wakes and Jack asks her what she remembers. She just remembers that Sark's name is Julian, she knew him from when she was a child and Alexander Khasinau used to dye her hair red when she was a child. Two security officers show up and Kat is being taken into custody under the Patriot Act under suspicion of treason against the United States Government.

Chapter Fifty Nine  
Kat is being held in the prison at the JTF in LA. in the same cell Irina had been held in. Vaughn meets her and reflects on her resemblance to Irina. Kat tells him that she is not her mother. Vaughn tells her what's been happening. Missions have been compromised in the last few weeks, all centering around info Kat had access too. Shortly before Kat and Weiss' two undercover agents working in Columbia in a Covenant based operation were killed. Branden of the NSC found information implicating Kat as the sender of a transmission to The Covenant naming the agents as CIA. Kat protests telling him that she is not a traitor. Everyone's clearance to see Kat has been revoked except his because he hadn't seen Branden yet. Everyone is protesting the arrest including Dixon and Dr. Barnet, but Branden has good evidence and The Senate Advisory Committee is even questioning her initial recruitment. Branden shows up at her cell and Kat's personality changes as she becomes cold, and defiant, an entirely different person. Vaughn is surprised as he's never been witness to her personality changes and Kendall and Lindsey are surprised as well. As Vaughn is about to leave Kat asks him to tell Sydney and Jack that she is okay and to ask Weiss to make copies of the pictures she wanted. Branden pulls her out of the cell to interrogate her himself.

In Italy Sark questions reflects on the events, which have passed, and exactly who Katia/Katarina Bristow is. He examines an old Shakespeare book and finds a sticky red mark. He's sure that it is from a cherry lollypop. He calls a contact and identifies himself as Anotonio Matrusca requesting all information on Katarina Bristow.

Vaughn meets Jack, Sydney, Weiss, Will and Carrie at a warehouse and tells them about his meeting with Kat. Jack and Weiss quickly determine that Kat was lying to Vaughn about something because she was tapping her left index finger, which is a signal when she lies. Marshall shows up and tells them information he found that proves Kat couldn't have sent the communication to The Covenant but the evidence is not good enough. JJ shows up with information about Kat.

Chapter Sixty  
JJ tells him what he was told by his "friend" Garcia in security about what went on during Kat's interrogation, which the end result was Kat being knocked unconscious by Branden. Vaughn tells Weiss what Kat had said about the photographs and Weiss recognizes it as a code to tell someone about the picture he found of Kat and Sark. Devlin arranges for Sydney and Jack to see Kat and everyone leaves, but Weiss talks to Jack before doing so and shows him the picture of Kat and Sark. 

Sydney and Jack go to see Kat and find her rather beat up. They question her and ask who she is protecting, but Kat denies that she is protecting anyone and Sydney and Jack know she's lying because they can see her tapping her finger in a repetitive pattern. They get into a shouting match with Kat continuously denying that she is protecting Sark. Finally she yells at Jack to stop because she won't betray Julian. Branden hears this and sees it as an admission of guilt. Branden informs Kat that she is being transferred to Camp Harris for unrestricted interrogation to determine the extent of her betrayal.

Weiss is driving in the car behind Kat's transfer van as she's being transferred to Camp Harris. The transfer van is attacked. One of the attackers is trying to get into the transfer van and Kat manages to get a hold of a gun from one of the unconscious guards. She points the gun at the person who breaks in. Kat isn't sure whether to trust the woman or to shoot her and the woman tells her to trust her now and ask questions later. The woman frees her and tells her to struggle against her as she pulls her from the van. A man takes a hold of Kat and begins dragging her to their own van. Kat sees Weiss running towards them aiming a gun and the woman aims her gun and shoots Weiss. That is the last thing that Kat sees before being knocked unconscious.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N-- **Redemption began Oct 13, 2003. It ended exactly one year later on October 13, 2004. It took a long time for me to start the sequel, but once i had it seemed fitting to wait until October 13 of this year to continue the pattern, and it also happens to be my birthday.

A lot of people stuck with me through this and I really hope they enjoy Absolution! Thank you so much to my beta Bev, without her, not only would my grammar and paragraphing suck, but also you would have hated the ending. Thanks Bev!

I really hope you all enjoy the fic and please comment and leave reviews, I especially love "quotey" reviews but I really do appreciate feedback both good and bad (as long as it's constructive at least.)

That said, I'll say another please leave feedback and I hope you enjoy Absolution.

**Absolution**

**Chapter One**

Kat sat on the floor in the back left corner of her cell with her legs drawn up tight to her chest. Her arms were wrapped tightly around them and her chin rested on her knees.

In the beginning, she had co-operated. They gave her a lie detector test and everything had been fine until she'd started to fail it. Branden dismissed everyone else from the interrogation room other than himself, Garcia and another guard. He started to question her, demanded answers, accused her of things she hadn't done and all through it she didn't say a word. She didn't defend herself or deny his accusations. It wouldn't get her anywhere. Branden was convinced she was a traitor and there wasn't any changing his mind so she didn't bother wasting her energy. She did however take pleasure in the fact that her silence pissed him off. Then he got nasty. An off-handed comment about her mother had been the one that finally broke her. She jumped up yelling and he slapped her. Not hard, but hard enough that she calmed for a while and decided to turn the tables on him until he hit her again and this time the interrogation was over.

Branden had asked a lot of questions about Julian. 'No, not Julian,' she reminded herself. Sark. He'd asked her a lot of questions about Sark. Julian and Sark, they were so different, yet the same. The Julian she remembered or rather thought she remembered was not the man he was today. Of course, back then he had only been a boy with shining blue eyes and a mop of curly blond hair.

Sydney and Jack approached the cell quietly. Kat hadn't heard them nor made any movement in the past ten minutes according to Garcia.

"Katarina?"

She lifted her head and it was painfully obvious to both Jack and Sydney that Garcia had been telling the honest truth.

"Daddy," her voice was wistful and earnest. She stood up stiffly in obvious discomfort and slowly walked towards the glass wall.

"Kat-your face," Sydney began.

"It's okay," she interrupted. "I can't say I didn't deserve it. It doesn't hurt that much anyway."

"Katarina-"

"I'm okay Daddy," she whispered. "I'm just confused. They're saying I did things that I didn't do or at least I don't remember doing-"

"Kat don't worry we already have evidence that you didn't send that communication to the Covenant. We're going to get you out of here soon," Sydney said confidently.

"But what about the records?"

"What records?"

"The bank records, Branden showed them to me. Bank records in my name, with large deposits and my signature and videotape and computer transmissions from my account. Syd, I don't remember any of it. He's saying I did it, but I don't remember-"

"Katarina, who are you protecting?" Jack asked bluntly.

Her eyes grew wide and she was taken aback. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You need to tell me who you're protecting."

Jack's voice was anything but sympathetic or compassionate and the manner in which he spoke was one he would use with another agent, not with his daughter. As Sydney watched her father and sister, she became painfully aware that Kat was tapping her left index finger against the glass in a repetitive pattern.

"I thought you believed me. Why don't you believe me?"

"Who is it Katarina, is it Sark? Julian? Are you protecting Julian?"

"I thought you believed me, why don't you believe me?"

"Are you protecting Julian?"

"Stop calling him that. You don't know him."

"Are you protecting Sark?"

"Don't call him that, it's not his name it's… Julian."

Kat was crying now and every tear felt like it was stabbing Sydney in the chest. "Katy just tell us the truth, are you protecting him?"

"Yes, no… I don't know." Her voice trembled and her palm splayed against the clear glass, gripping it.

"Why?" Jack asked. "Weiss showed me the picture, is it because of that?"

"No," she shouted."

"Then tell me why you're protecting him. Why are you lying for him."

"I don't know."

"Why are you loyal to him?"

"I don't know!" she screamed. "Please Daddy stop. Please just stop," she begged. "I can't hurt Julian. I won't betray Julian."

It was her last words that signaled to the others that someone else was there. Director Branden had been listening down the hall just out of sight, unnoticed by either Jack or Sydney. "Well, well well, finally the admission of guilt."

Both Jack and Sydney watched as Kat grew pale and the realization of just what she'd said hit her.

"That was not an admission of guilt," Sydney protested.

"That certainly is what it sounded like to me." Branden turned to face Kat. "You're going down. The evidence speaks for itself."

"You can't have any reliable evidence because I didn't do anything," Kat said angrily.

"We'll get a confession," Branded stated confidently. "At 0800 hours you're being transferred to Camp Harris for unrestricted interrogation. We'll get a confession."

"No, you have no grounds." Sydney seethed.

"Oh we have more than enough grounds. Your sister is a traitor to the US government and we will find out the extent of her betrayal." Branden motioned the guards over and addressed them. "Please escort Agents Bristow from the premises."

Neither Sydney nor Jack tried to fight off the guards. It would only have made things worse for Kat.

"Katarina." When she looked to Jack, he could see the undeniable fear in her eyes. She knew exactly what unrestricted interrogation was and that it would be decidedly worse than anything The Covenant or Viktor Melnikov had done to her. "We'll figure this out."

Silently she watched them go, not noticing the tears that slid down her cheeks.

"Looks like you've finally run out of time," Branden commented as he begun to walk away.

"I didn't do it," she whispered though no one could hear. "I didn't do it you sonofab," she shouted much louder. Her voice screamed out the next words and they echoed down the hallway reaching Sydney and Jack. Both her fists slamming against the glass wall. "I didn't do it!"

Defeated Kat slowly turned her back against the glass and slowly slipped to the ground her knees hugging her chest. She slipped her hands around them and held them as tight as she possibly could.

"I didn't do it."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Weiss leaned his head against the car window. He was driving to Camp Harris to complete Kat's transfer. The car he was in was following the transfer bus where Kat was located with three armed guards. He knew it was wrong. Kat wouldn't hurt a fly unless provoked and she definitely wasn't working for The Covenant. If she were, he'd know… right?

He'd seen her face, as she was loaded into the bus. Her hands and ankles were shackled together and she'd looked defeated. There wasn't that spark of defiance that he'd always admired. She seemed almost accepting of the situation and he had to wonder if she indeed had accepted it. Had she given up?

Kat wasn't sure what had alerted her to the presence of another vehicle. Perhaps it was the flash of light from the rocky hills just before the bus entered the tunnel or the complete darkness, which raised her suspicions. Regardless of what it was, she knew instantly that something bad was about to happen. She turned her body bracing it against the seat and one of the guards stood. He didn't even have time to ask her what she was doing when there was a sudden flash of light, a loud bang and a lot of smoke.

The driver slammed on his breaks and the bus swerved, flipping over and sailing across the empty road on its side.

Kat lay against the broken window struggling to breathe. When the bus had flipped, she'd been tossed to the opposite side of the bus and had the wind knocked out of her. She stood as best she could and saw that all three guards and the driver had been knocked unconscious in the collision. She crawled up the side of the bus as best she could trying to ignore the pain as she came into contact with shards of glass from the broken windows. She checked the pulses of both guards and was relieved to find them alive, just unconscious. She couldn't reach the driver or the third guard as they were trapped behind a screen barrier so she didn't even worry if they were alive or not.

She turned around trying to decide what had happened. Something had been thrown in front of the bus a bomb perhaps, the driver had swerved flipped the bus and then the other car… Eric!

Kat crawled to the back of the bus and looked out the broken window. The car he'd been in was upside down and there wasn't any movement. She had to get out; she had to make sure that he was all right. She began to crawl back to the guards hoping one would have keys for the shackles when she heard voices. There were shouts and gunfire and then someone began rattling the back door of the bus.

It had to be The Covenant or her Papa. They must have come for her.

The rattling on the back door became more intense and somewhat frantic. The emergency door must have jammed shut in the accident. She suppressed a scream as the door was fired upon and worked at getting to the guard. There was no time to get the shackles off and she just worked on getting to a gun.

The moment her hands closed around the guard's handgun, she heard the door opening. Turning onto her back she aimed the gun as the person came into view.

The attacker kept their gun aimed at Kat and slowly pulled off their knitted ski mask. Kat's hands shook as she tried to keep the gun level. She was the first one to speak.

"I don't know whether to shoot you, or to trust you."

"If you were going to shoot me, you'd have done it already." The woman lowered her gun and held out her hand instead. "Trust me know. Ask questions later."

Kat's eyes traveled forth between the woman's hand and the gun. Making her decision Kat set down the guard's gun and held out her hands as the woman pulled her to a standing position. Kat visibly flinched as the woman knelt at her feet holding a penknife.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said and used the blade to pop open the shackles around Kat's ankles and then the cuffs around her wrists. Finally free of the restraints Kat bent and grabbed the gun she'd dropped.

"No." The woman knocked the gun from her hands and grabbed her wrist pulling Kat tightly against her body. She pulled down her mask and wrapped her arm around Kat's waist before placing the barrel of the gun against Kat's shoulder. "Fight me," she ordered. "But you're going."

Kat nodded understanding what the woman wanted and as they neared the bus' emergency doors. Kat began to struggle against her as the woman pulled her away from the bus.

Another figure cloaked in black carrying a gun approached them. "I got her," a man said and wrapped his arm around Kat holding her body tight to his.

Kat began to fight harder not knowing who he was and she kicked as the man began pulling her towards a waiting van. The man wrapped his other arm around her and held her tighter lifting her feet off the ground as they approached the van. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone approaching with his gun drawn. Eric. The woman pulled her own gun and aimed it at Weiss.

"Nooooooooooo!" Kat kicked the man that held her, hard in the groin as Weiss turned towards her. She tried to run to him but the man tackled her from behind and flipped her onto her back. Looming over her he raised hand with the gun near her face. Kat's eyes connected with the man's and she recognized them. "Eric!" she screamed turning to the side and watching as the woman found her target once more. The last thing she would see was the woman pulling the trigger as the man came down hard with the but of his gun near her temple and Kat surrendered to the inky darkness.

Her head hurt. It felt like a thick fog covered her mind. The room was mostly dark, even through closed lids she could tell that much, but there was a faint light that hurt her eyes. Her arms and legs weren't restrained and though she could move them freely, every movement made them ache. Her throat was dry and she couldn't speak. She was able to manage a moan and tried to open her eyes but they wouldn't budge.

"You're alright," a male voice called to her and she felt someone take her hand. "Just give me a moment; your eyes are swollen shut." Kat soon felt the cool dabbing of a wet cloth against her eyes. "It'll just take a minute, have some water." A glass was pressed against her lips and tilted so she could drink. Her throat was dry and she greedily sucked it back.

"Just a little," the man cautioned and took the glass back while he continued wiping her eyes with a cool cloth.

"Where am I?" Kat asked, her voice still raspy.

"You're safe."

Kat tried to open her eyes, but they remained sealed shut.

"Just give it a few more minutes," the man said and she heard him rinse out the cloth before continuing to dab at her eyes again.

"What happened?" Kat whispered

"You've been sick," the man explained. "After your extraction, we gave you a sedative, but it reacted with your insulin. You gave us quite a fright."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About eighteen hours. How do you feel?"

"Ironically, tired," she laughed slightly.

"You had a high fever," the man said and checked her forehead. "It's gone now." He pulled the cloth away from her eyes. "Alright, give it a try."

The cool water had relieved the swelling around her eyes slightly and loosened her lids enabling her to open them. Kat blinked her eyes open moaning slightly in pain.

"Julian," she smiled seeing his face.

"Hello Katia," Sark dabbed her eyes once more with water. "How does that feel?"

"Better," her smile vanished. "You hit me."

"My sincere apologies," Sark gently touched the bruise over her right eye. "It was for the surveillance satellites."

Kat suddenly bolted upright as the memories of the ambush came back to her. "Eric!"

"Katia, calm down," Sark pushed her shoulders back onto the bed. "He's alright."

"But she shot him!"

"It was a tranq gun," Sark reassured her drawing the blankets back up to cover her body. "Your Agent Weiss is fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I assure you Katia. He's back in California, in perfect health."

"Where are we?"

"Near Groznyy."

"Russia? I hate Russia," she groaned. "Why? Why did you do it? Why am I here?" she asked sitting up.

"There's time for that." Sark rose from the edge of the bed and pointed towards a closed door. "The bathroom is through there and some clothes for you in the closet. Why don't you shower and clean up. I'll have some lunch brought up." He opened the bedroom door. "Come downstairs when you're ready."

"I can leave the room?" she asked genuinely surprised.

"You're not a prisoner here, Katia."

"Oh. You call me Katia," she remarked with the hint of a smile.

"That's what I've always called you. You call me Julian-"

"Julian, do you remember…"

"Come down when you're ready." Sark moved to leave the room not allowing her to finish the sentence, as he knew what she wanted to ask

"Julian..."

"Katia," he sighed turning back to her. "What is it?"

"You look older," she said softly.

"It's been a long time."

"Fourteen years."

He gave her a slight smile. "A long time."

"Julian?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

He nodded. "Come when you're ready."

xxxxxxxxxx

Vaughn opened the door to Weiss' hospital room and allowed it to slam shut behind him startling both occupants. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked seeing Weiss struggle to slip on his shirt and button it.

"What does it look like I'm doing," Weiss said rather annoyed as his bandaged hands inhibited the once simple task of buttoning his shirt.

"It looks like you're signing out of the hospital A.M.A."

"Well then obviously you talked to Lisa."

"Damn right I talked to Lisa, Weiss, she's worried about you. You're injured-"

"And so is Kat and sitting around in a hospital bed and doing nothing is not going to help find her."

"Weiss, we're doing everything we can to find Kat," Vaughn sat down on the hospital bed watching as Weiss struggled with the buttons of his shirt. "JJ's out right now examining the scene with Garcia. Jack and Sydney are checking all their contacts and she's…"

"She's what?" Weiss pressed.

"She's number three on the CIA's most wanted list right now. They're considering shoot to kill."

"What!"

"Weiss, they're doing everything they can to find her. They think she's the mole; they think she's working for the Covenant."

"She's not. Kat is not the mole."

"You and I know that, but the evidence is convincing. They're convinced that it's her."

"Well it's not. She was set up. You talked to her Mike."

"Yeah and she lied to me." Vaughn held up his hand to stop Weiss from speaking and continued. "She lied. I know she's not the mole. We all know it, but that doesn't change the fact that she lied and she's protecting someone, probably Sark."

"Why do you say that?" Weiss questioned wondering if Jack had showed the others the photo of Kat and Sark when they were kids.

"The footage, from the security camera in Morocco. It was obvious that she knew him. Whether or not she remembers is really not the issue."

"You know what, Mike," Weiss interrupted. "You're starting to sound like them."

"Like them? Like Who?"

"Kendall, Devlin, Brandon, all of them."

"Weiss, that's not fair!" Vaughn stood angrily. "I can't change what she did. Kat lied to Brandon and she's in deep shit for doing it, but she's my friend. I love her too and I know she's innocent."

"Than what are we standing here arguing for," Weiss grinned and tossed him a shoe. "Help me get out of this place and go find her."

Vaughn eyed his friend's bandaged hands and nodded, cracking a smile. "Lisa's going to kill me for this," he sighed. "Better yet, Syd will shoot me first."

Weiss grinned and eased his aching body into the chair beside his bed. He stuck out his foot so Vaughn could slip on the tennis shoe and tie it which his broken fingers and burned hands prevented Weiss from doing. "Hey Mike, you like Lisa right?"

"Of course, she's nice." Vaughn looked up from his kneeling position on the floor as he tightened the shoelaces. "Why? Are things getting serious?"

"I don't know, maybe," Weiss shrugged with a smile. "She's great, I love her. It's just, I don't think Kat likes her; her opinion is important to me."

"What are you talking about?" Vaughn asked. "Kat likes everybody. Don't worry, you know it takes her a little bit to get used to new people."

"Right," Weiss nodded reassured. "Alright man, let's get out of this sterile prison."

Vaughn laughed and stood, following Weiss out the door. Sydney was so going to kill him for this he thought again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kat waited until Sark had left the room before she got out of bed. There was a large picture window with a window seat on the far wall and she immediately looked through it. There wasn't much to see. Countryside that seemed to go on for ages and beautiful gardens surrounded a natural pond. She sat on the ledge drawing her knees up to her chest and rested her head against the window. The touch was cool and seemed to dull her aching head slightly.

She glanced around the room seemingly mesmerized by the beauty of it. The wood of the bed and dresser were dark and rich, the carpet lush and expansive, and the cloths screamed elegance. The sheets were a fine silk and even the pajamas she wore were of the utmost quality. Whomever it all belonged to, had good taste.

Her fingers traveled to her neck and pulled the chain out from under her shirt. It was the medallion: the Archangel Gabriel, Patron Saint of Guardian Angels. Her eyes filled with tears as she cupped the pendant in her hands. All she wanted to do was go home and see Sydney, her father and Eric; but that didn't seem possible at the moment. "Please be okay Eric," she whispered squeezing her eyes shut as the image of the woman pointing the gun at him lingered in her mind. With Julian, she didn't feel danger. She felt strangely secure in the foreign house in the country she'd come to hate. Things always seemed to go badly when she was in Russia.

Kat stood and went into the bathroom. It was small yet elegant with marble counters and fresh flowers that fragranced the entire room. She turned the water on and stripped off her clothes anxious to wash away the sweat and grime residue from her fever and extraction.

She stood naked in front of the mirror barely recognizing the girl in the reflection. The left side of her face was bruised courtesy of Director Brandon and Julian had left his mark on the right side. Her hands and arms were scraped from the glass and both her upper arms bruised from where the woman had grabbed her. She looked tired and worn, not at all like the vibrant eighteen-year-old girl she should have been. The last three days had been a nightmare from hell and she had a sinking suspicion that it was only just the beginning.

Kat stood under the shower allowing the far too hot water to drench her skin. It hurt but it was almost nice to feel the pain. Pain she could control. Pain reminded her that she was alive and prevented her from falling asleep. The water soothed away the tension in her shoulders and back but made all the cuts and bruises marring her skin burn with a fierce intensity. Following the shower, she wrapped herself in a large fluffy white bathrobe and towel-dried her hair as best she could. The bathroom cupboard was well stocked. She found a brush and used it to comb through the mass of tangled curls.

When she emerged from the steamy bathroom, there was a tray of food left on the dresser. Scrambled eggs and fresh fruit were uncovered along with tea and orange juice. She immediately drank the juice as she began to feel light-headed and knew her blood sugar was low. She ate the eggs and then picked at the fruit, carefully avoiding any pieces that had come into contact with the strawberries. Hives were the last thing she needed at the moment.

Kat briefly considered that the food could have been drugged but she was sure that Julian wouldn't have done that. He told her that she wasn't a prisoner and he'd wanted to see her when she was ready. He wouldn't have drugged her food if he'd wanted to see her.

After changing into a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans that though were the smallest size in the cupboard, they were still several sizes too big, Kat ventured out of the room. She looked up and down the long hallway but there wasn't any activity. It was an old house, easily two hundred years but she could tell it had been recently renovated. Everything looked brand new. From the plush burgundy carpeting to the ornate woodcarvings on the grand staircase, Kat was sure everything should have remained under glass.

"Miss?"

Kat nearly jumped out of her skin hearing the voice call her. She turned in the direction of the unfamiliar voice abruptly, her damp hair whipping her face and her fists ready to retaliate. She almost laughed and lowered her hands. The owner of the voice a very tall, very skinny old man dressed in a butler's uniform at the end of the hallway. The poor man looked like he might snap in half with any quick movement.

"They're in the dining room." He pointed down the staircase.

"They?" she asked curiously but the man did not answer. Instead, he turned and walked down the opposite hallway disappearing into the dark shadows of the corridor. The man gave her the creeps. The whole scene was right out of a horror movie and she was a little unnerved as to who exactly was waiting for her down stairs.

She trusted Julian. She wasn't sure why but she did. Though she trusted him, she still had no idea what his intentions were. Was she really safe or was she about to be interrogated for American secrets. On the other hand, perhaps it was Rambaldi or the Contessa he was after.

Kat clenched the railing in her hand as she slowly walked down the staircase. Her palms began to sweat in nervous anticipation of what she would find. The butler could have been mistaken and it was only Julian who was waiting for her, but what if he was right. What if Julian was working for her Papa and all he wanted was information on The Contessa; he had known Victor Melnikov after all.

Her fears began to grow as she neared the landing and heard the quiet lull of voices. It was easy to discern where they were coming from…a room across the hall and to the left of the stairs. The lights were low and cast dark shadows on the walls, which only served to heighten her level of suspicion.

The voices grew louder as she approached the room. Julian's voice and accent were so easily distinguishable and she judged there to be at least two other men and one woman in his presence. They quickly grew quiet and then silent and Kat had difficulty deciphering any words of the stilted conversation. Her steps were slow and silent on the wood floor. She briefly thought about making a run for it to the front door several yards down from the room, but she doubted she'd be able to make it off the unfamiliar grounds without being caught. She'd learn her boundaries, and then plan her escape if needed.

Kat crept along the side of the wall getting closer to the entranceway of the dining room. In contrast to the rest of the house, it was brightly lit and she stood unmoving in the corner of the entranceway. In addition to Julian, there were two more men and three women surrounding a long dining table. Julian had his back to her and no one noticed her. They were too involved in their computers, files, and paperwork. She studied each one, though not able to see any of their faces. She recognized Julian, and also the back of the woman who'd shot Eric, but the others were a mystery to her.

"Well, well, well, sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up."

The voice seemed full of hatred towards her and as Kat faced the occupants of the room her blood ran cold.


	3. Chapter Two

**Absolution  
Chapter 2**

Kat crept along the side of the wall getting closer to the entranceway of the dining room. In contrast to the rest of the house, it was bright and she stood unmoving in the corner of the entranceway. In addition to Julian, there were two more men and three women surrounding a long dining table. Julian had his back to her and no one noticed her. They were too involved in their computers, files, and paperwork. She studied each one, though not able to see any of their faces. She recognized Julian, and the back of the woman who'd shot Eric, but the others were a mystery to her.

"Well, well, well, sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up."

The voice seemed full of hatred toward her and as Kat faced the occupants of the room, her blood ran cold. Her eyes immediately locked with the speakers. She was a young woman, several years older than Kat with fiery red hair and jade green eyes. The rest of the occupants of the table turned toward her and strangely Kat felt rather self-conscious, which was unlike her. Kat took a few steps back into the shadows and Julian stood and walked to her.

"It's alright," he said softly to her ears only and guided her into the room.

She stood directly in front of the woman who'd shot Eric. The woman turned in her chair slightly and removed her reading glasses. "Come here child."

Kat took a few steps toward her and stopped.

"Closer."

Kat eyed Julian carefully before stepping forward once more until she was only inches from the woman. The woman looked her up and down several times, her gaze never changing.

"You're quite a good deal smaller than I thought you'd be." The woman suddenly roared with laughter and gently tugged the jeans Kat wore. They were double rolled at the cuffs and waist and they barely hung onto her slender hips.

Kat glanced at the others who also laughed and she even saw Julian smirk. She turned her attention back to the woman. "You're a great deal older than I thought you'd be."

The woman stopped laughing. "And quite the mouth on you. Didn't your mother ever--"

"My mother is dead."

"That is news to me."

"Katya," Sark broke in. "Leave her alone."

"I don't need you to defend me, Julian." Kat crossed her arms over her chest angrily.

"Yes Julian," and the red head smiled mockingly.

"Shut up, Talia." One of the men shook his head and smiled slightly at Kat.

Katya reached her hand up and tilted Kat's chin examining the bruises over her eyes. "You should put some ice on those."

Sark quickly put his hands on Kat's shoulders and pulled her back. He could see the anger simmering in her eyes and knew only too well what she was like when she erupted. He directed her toward the chair beside his and as she sat down, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Call me Sark."

It was plainly obvious to her that Julian was off limits.

Talia, the redheaded girl glared at her. Her nose was slightly crooked and she reminded Kat of a rather nasty girl by the name of Rachel that she'd known in the second grade. Rachel was the most popular girl in the class with long red hair always pulled back into a braid. She had constantly teased, berated, and bullied Kat for being an orphan and wearing hand-me-down clothes with holes from church charity boxes.

On the last day of school, Rachel had teased Kat about wearing a long sleeved shirt that was tearing at the seams, when it was so hot out. A good strong pull and the sleeve had ripped right off giving half her second grade class a good view of the bruises dotting her arm courtesy of her latest foster mother. A few laughed, but most didn't say anything at all including the wretched Rachel because they were afraid of her; she hadn't cried. Kat wasn't unhappy about the change in foster homes and school districts, which occurred a week later and guaranteed she would never see Rachel again.

The man, who sat next to Talia, was obviously her older brother around Sark's age. They both shared the same red hair and freckles. Beside him, directly across from Kat, was the third woman. She was blond and blue eyed and was seated far back enough from the table that Kat could easily see she was at least seven or eight months pregnant. The third man seated beside Sark, the one who'd smiled at her, was tall with dark hair and dark eyes. As she looked at him, he smiled again and she forced herself to look away. She looked over at Katya, studying her.

"Why have you brought me here?"

Katya raised an eyebrow at Sark. "She really isn't at all what I expected her to be." Ignoring Kat's question, she stood and began the introductions. The redheaded girl was first then her brother. "My daughter Natalya, her brother Aleksei and his wife Anna. And this is Ilya."

Katya's hand stopped on the back of the last chair and once again the tall dark haired man smiled at her. Kat ignored his kindness. "Why have you brought me here?" she repeated.

"Patience," Katya replied coolly and as she resumed her seat she finished the introductions. "This is your cousin, Irina's second daughter, Katarina." She slipped her glasses back on and shared a seemingly amused look with Aleksei.

Kat glanced at the others quickly wondering as to their position in her kidnapping. She only remembered Katya and Julian from the actual event, but Ilya seemed familiar. "You haven't answered my question."

"Defiant as ever," Katya laughed slightly then nodded to Sark indicating he should provide the explanation.

Kat turned to face him and he saw the immediate distrust in her eyes. Not that he blamed her of course; he had brought her to the family she despised. "I have a mole inside The Covenant," he began. "The mole informed me that The Covenant has a mole inside the CIA and that The Covenant was planning your extraction during your transfer to Camp Harris. We got to you first."

Kat listened silently to his explanation and analyzed every word he spoke. Was he telling the truth? On the other hand, was it just a lie to ensure her trust? However, Julian wouldn't lie to her, right? The entire situation was making her head ache.

"But why am I here?"

Sark was not surprised at her words. "For your safety." He gestured to the others who listened to the explanation and to the files of information littering the long table. "We need to discover who the CIA mole is, take care of them, and clear your name or you won't be safe. As it stands, the CIA believes you were extracted by The Covenant and they are searching for your whereabouts."

"My mother?"

"What about her?" Sark asked, his tone changing slightly at the mention of Irina.

"I thought she was Covenant."

"No," Sark interrupted. "She is not. It was her instruction that I go to Katya for assistance."

"Where is she?"

"Your mother is out of the country." Kat's eyes darkened at Katya's intrusion into the conversation. "She has been informed of your well being. I expect she'll call to speak with you later this evening."

"I don't expect I'll be so inclined to speak with her."

"Katia," Sark said sharply and Kat bit her lip to keep from saying more. He passed her a file folder. "We've been examining the records of anyone who could have had access to the information that was leaked to the Covenant. Start with the bank records and look for any similarities, inconsistencies, or patterns with the dates or amounts that were deposited into the false accounts set up in your name. We'll need your help to determine who set you up."

Kat opened the file and her eyes widened. "Jonathan Jude Cruz?" she said aloud in surprise. "What is this joke? JJ would never do anything to hurt me!"

"We need to examine all the possibilities," Sark reminded her and Kat could feel the heat of embarrassment coming over her cheeks. Sark showed her the name on the file he was analyzing. William D. Tippin. "We need to look at everyone, even those least suspected. You cannot return home until we find and expose the mole. It is not safe."

"What if we don't?" The prospect of never going back to LA, back to Sydney and her father, her friends, Eric, scared her.

"We will," Ilya smiled reassuringly and for the first time Kat allowed herself to smile back.

It was early morning when Jack took a sip of his scotch and swirled the amber liquid in his glass. Every contact he had spoken with had no knowledge of any Covenant activity following his daughter's abduction, which was leading him to believe that The Covenant was not at all responsible for her disappearance. His contacts also had no knowledge of the whereabouts of Julian Sark or Irina Derevko and it seemed likely that one or the other, if not both, were responsible for Katarina's abduction and Jack wasn't sure if that reassured him or concerned him more.

The CIA's investigation of Katarina as the mole garnered more evidence and Jack's private investigation to prove otherwise failed to find any new information to further its cause. The only evidence they had was Marshall's video tape, which wasn't enough. Whoever had implicated his daughter had covered their tracks well.

Jack dipped his finger in the glass and lifted it to his lips, reminding him of the habit his daughter had never broken.

Despite living with Sydney or himself for as long as Katarina had and establishing trust; whenever she was served a beverage that either she hadn't poured herself or she hadn't opened from a sealed can or bottle, she always dipped her finger for a taste test. The habit had been left over from her days as a foster child living with numerous alcoholic parents. Although Jack had hoped the habit would have been broken now he was painfully aware that he, or rather his drinking, was most likely the reason for its continuance. He set the glass down on the table determined not to finish it. He had made a valid attempt at his daughter's request to stop drinking and he was determined to continue it.

Jack's eyes were drawn over to the chessboard, which had been left in mid-game. It was his turn. He studied the board for several moments before making his move.

"Your turn, sweetheart," he whispered softly before turning off the light and heading to bed.

Kat sighed and closed the file she had been examining. It was Mr. McShadows, or rather Alex McDonald, the security agent who'd been assigned to monitor her activities prior to joining the CIA.

"Everything alright?" Sark asked leaning towards her.

"Yes," she responded, but he could tell she was lying.

"Why don't you take a break," Sark suggested. "Go for a walk."

Kat nodded eager for a chance to learn her boundaries and plan a quick escape if one would be required. She stood and left the room without a second glance at the rest. This had to be some kind of nightmare that she would wake up from eventually.

After joining the CIA, Kat had begun investigating her mother's history. She'd known of the existence of her mother's elder sister Ekaterina or Katya as she was called, the one Kat was possibly named for, and she knew her mother had a much younger sister named Yelena, but she hadn't known there would be more of them. Cousins, she shuddered.

Alexsei was all right and his wife Anna was sweet, but seemed entirely out of place in the family. Natalya seemed to hate her for some reason. However, Ilya intrigued her. With his lack of resemblance to the others, she could only assume that he was not related to the Derevkos.

Kat walked in the opposite direction from where she'd come all the while making mental notes of the exits and what rooms were designed for what purpose. The house was massive. There were two separate libraries on the first floor alone and the furnishings were richly decorated and expensive. If it was Katya who owned the house, she must be incredibly wealthy and curiously, Kat couldn't help but wonder where that money had come from…no doubt from illegal activities.

Kat ventured down a hallway off the main one and down a small set of stairs to find herself in a kitchen. Walking around a small island in the center, she plucked an apple from the fruit bowl and tossed it between her hands.

"Hello."

Startled Kat dropped the apple and whipped her head in the direction of the voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The woman had emerged from a large pantry Kat hadn't seen upon entering the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she admitted watching curiously, as the woman stepped forward.

"Well you certainly do……never mind," she shook her head.

"Certainly do what?" Kat asked suspiciously.

"I'd rather not say."

"What?" Kat demanded.

"You look like your mother." She smiled gently and set a box of tea on the counter. "I'm…"

"Yelena, I know."

"Well it's nice to meet you," Yelena said warmly. "You can just call me Lena, if you'd like."

Kat nodded and studied the other woman. She looked quite a bit younger than Kat had expected, although Yelena was older than Sydney was, by about ten years. Kat forced herself to stand still as the woman came toward her, her hand outstretched.

Yelena touched her forehead with the back of her hand. "You're still warm," she said. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I'm fine."

Yelena nodded, accepting her answer and backed away. "I know things must seem quite confusing for you right now--"

"I just want to go home," Kat interrupted. "But I have accepted that won't be happening any time soon." She watched as Yelena added tea bags to a teapot of boiled water. "Can I help you with something?"

"Sure," Yelena surveyed the tray she had set out. "Could you get the rose tea cups for me please?" she instructed. Kat nodded and went to the cupboard. Yelena added a small container of sugar and cream to the tray and then turned to her niece. "Katy, the cups are in the third cup…" She stopped seeing Kat holding one of the teacups.

"Was that a test?" Kat asked bluntly. She had known exactly in which cupboard the teacups were located.

"I suppose it was."

"I've been here before," Kat stated glancing around the kitchen in search of familiar surroundings.

"You have," Yelena confirmed. "When you were a child your mother brought you here, before going to America. You helped me make tea every day you were here."

"I don't remember you."

Yelena laughed bringing a slight smile to Kat's face. "I wouldn't expect you to Katarina; you were only four years old."

"Was it when we were running from Khasinau?"

Yelena turned and retrieved the spoons from the drawer. "Thirteen years last month," she said quietly.

Kat noticed the change in her, the sadness in her voice and was about to say something, but Sark interrupted. He greeted Yelena, nodding to her and surprised Kat by standing behind her, placing both hands on her shoulders.

His touch unnerved her. It was protective. She shuddered.

Sark took notice and asked if she was all right. She said she was and changed the subject. "I want to talk to my dad or Sydney at least," she requested.

"That's not possible," he refused. "All their communication lines will be tapped."

Kat pulled away and turned around, glaring at him, her hands on her hips. "This isn't my first day on the job Sark; just give me a damn untraceable phone."

He handed her his cell phone. He could see her hands shake as she dialed and he wondered if it was from nerves.

Kat walked away from Sark and Yelena, but kept them in sight. The phone rang twice before a cheery hello was heard.

"Marshall, don't react to my voice," she instructed. "Just pretend it's your sister."

"Okay," he said uncertainly. "How are you Alicia? How's school?"

"I'm okay," she smiled letting out a sigh of relief at finally being able to hear a familiar voice. "Are you alone?"

"No," he responded glancing around the busy rotunda.

"I called you, because I figured all the other lines would be tapped. Is my dad or Sydney there?"

"No," Marshall answered quietly. He was concerned at how calm Kat sounded. He'd heard how she was like steel when she wanted to be, but this was ridiculous. "Vaughn is."

"Let me talk to him; just don't let him know it's me."

"Sure Alicia, I think Mr. Vaughn can help you." Marshall approached Vaughn and tapped his shoulder.

The instant Vaughn turned in his chair to face Marshall, he knew something was up. The gadget man was sweating more profusely than normal and his face had gone ashen white.

"It's my sister Alicia," he explained holding out the phone. "She needs help with her French homework and I'm a little rusty."

"Okay," Vaughn said cautiously knowing immediately that something was up. "Can I use your office? I don't have a dictionary."

"Sure," he nodded. "I'm going to meet Carrie for lunch."

Vaughn waited until he was inside Marshall's tech office before putting the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"Kit Kat?" Vaughn sank down in the chair, running a hand through his hair.

"Hi Mike."

Her voice was soft and he had to listen carefully to hear her. "Kat, where are you? What happened?"

"Mike, relax, I'm fine, I'm safe," she promised and walked away from Sark and Yelena. Once she was a safe distance away, she leaned against the wall and sank to the plush carpet.

"Where are you?"

"I can't say."

"Kat--"

"Vaughn, I can't. Just tell my dad and Sydney that I'm fine."

"Tell me where you are and I can come get you."

"Vaughn no, I can't," she protested, her voice wavering slightly. "Don't you understand? I can't come back. Not until I find who was trying to frame me."

"But Kat?"

"No, I won't tell you." She took a deep breath and stretched her legs out drawing them over the burgundy carpet runner. "Mike," she asked softly, "how's Eric? He was shot and I don't know--"

"He's fine," Vaughn interrupted. "He just had a concussion, and his hands were cut up, otherwise, he's fine."

"Thank God, I couldn't live with myself if…" her voice trailed off leaving them both to imagine the possibilities. .

"Did you know it was happening? Were you expecting it?"

"No, I had no idea, I swear. Mike, there is a mole in the CIA, but it's not me."

"What?"

"The people who took me have confirmation that there is a mole placed in the CIA, in our task force. I can't go back until I find out who it is. If I go back now, I'm as good as dead."

"And the people you're with?"

"I'm safe; they'll protect me, at least for now, until we can figure out who it is."

"I want to believe you Kit Kat," he said quietly. "I really do, but right now I have no idea if you're telling me the truth. I have no idea if you're ever telling me the truth. The CIA is looking for you and Branden is not going to stop until he finds you."

He was expecting to hear the sting of betrayal in her voice, but what he got was far from it.

"I know," Kat swallowed hard and took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "I've lied to you a lot, especially in the last few days, and I am sorry but I just didn't know what else to do. I promise you that I never betrayed you, or Sydney, my father, Eric, no one. My promises may be worthless to you, but I know that it's the truth. It's all I can give you until I have proof and--"

"Stop," Vaughn interrupted. "Kat, I know you're not the mole; that's not what I was talking about. If anything happens to you, it will destroy your sister. I don't want to see that happen; you can't do this by yourself."

"I'm not," she responded. "Vaughn, I don't exactly trust these people, but they want to help me and I'm safer here than in LA."

"Are you with your mother?"

"I have to go." She ignored his last question and stood, stretching her legs as she did so. "Just tell Sydney that I'm okay?" she requested. "I'll call back if I can."

"Kat wait--"

"Bye, Mike." She hung up the phone and leaned back against the mahogany paneled hallway, her eyes closed tightly.

"And how is Agent Wrinkles?"

"That's not nice Julian… Sark, whatever your name is," she sighed and held out the phone for him.

"I speak the truth," he shrugged.

"Vaughn's a good person; he loves my sister." Kat stood upright, but a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and she slid back against the wall, her eyes remaining closed. "They're still looking for me. Branden's not giving up on this."

"He's the one who hit you?" Sark asked softly gently brushing his thumb over her swollen cheek.

"Yes," She opened her eyes and was immediately struck at the gentleness of his touch. It seemed so unlike the first time she had seen him when he'd brought her back to Viktor Melnikov. "I never thanked you for telling Irina where I was. Thank you," she smiled slightly.

"I must admit, when I saw you, I had no idea who you were. I never knew Irina had another daughter."

"It could have turned out a lot differently if you hadn't been there." Kat blinked trying to clear her line of vision but it was useless and she just resigned to closing her eyes again.

"But it didn't. Katia, are you alright?"

"Katarina?" Yelena had heard Sark's question and approached the two, drying her hands on a dishtowel. She felt Kat's forehead and flushed cheeks. "You have a fever again, are you alright?"

"Yes…" she nodded and opened her eyes attempting to focus on Sark's face but she couldn't. "…no." She took a step forward, but lost her footing and Sark caught her slowly lowering her to the ground.

"What is it?"

"I'm sick," she struggled to stand but Sark firmly pushed her back down. "I need insulin."

"Why didn't you just say something," Yelena scolded her. "Sark, take her upstairs, I'll be up in a minute."

Sark knelt beside her and easily lifted her into his arms. "I can walk," Kat protested.

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Why are you such a pain in the ass?" she retorted.

"Katia," he sighed irritated as he began his trek up the grand staircase.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked as he gently deposited her on the bed.

"What does it matter?"

"I don't know…" her voice trailed off thoughtfully. "I just want to know why I know you, how I know you. Why can't you tell me?"

"Katia--"

Their conversation was interrupted by Yelena who entered the room quietly and handed Kat an insulin kit. Yelena waited until Kat had administered the proper dosage of insulin with practiced ease before handing her a glass of orange juice, which she quickly drank. "You should get some rest," she advised. "I'll get some proper clothes for you and wake you for dinner in a few hours."

Kat nodded silently feeling the exhaustion quickly catching up with her. Sark was about to close the door when she realized he hadn't answered her question. "Julian?"

"Go to sleep Katia," he said quietly and turned off the light, pulling the door shut as he went.

Sighing, Kat carefully rolled onto her side, mindful of the bruises on her shoulders and face. She closed her eyes, resigned to ask Sark the question again the moment she saw him next.


	4. Chapter Three

Absolution  
Chapter 3

Sark was on his way to wake Katarina at Yelena's request when he heard her screams. He pulled his gun from the back waistband of his pants and signaled to Ilya who was leaving his own room across the great wraparound hallway.

Ilya disappeared into his room shortly and emerged brandishing two .34 caliber handguns. He too had heard the scream coming from across the hallway the moment he'd left his room. He took off in a soundless run around the rectangle hallway towards Kat's room.

As soon as Ilya reached the bedroom door, he and Sark burst in their guns aimed as they scoped the room for an intruder. To their surprise, there wasn't one.

Kat lay on her side curled into the fetal position, her arms above her head, shielding her face. Her body suddenly twisted to the other side as her hoarse voice cried out, "Nyet, nyet. Please don't, please don't hurt me!"

"Leave us," Sark ordered quickly realizing that she was in the throes of a violent nightmare.

Ilya was clearly reluctant but he obeyed Sark's orders.

Sark slid his gun back in the waistband of his pants and slowly approached the bed. Kat's screams grew louder with each passing second and her face stained with tears, some dry, and some not. He called her name twice, but Kat showed no signs of waking. He sat down on the bed and checked her forehead for signs of fever but there were none. She appeared to be having a regular nightmare. He shook her shoulder and called her name.

Caught off guard Sark was surprised when Kat awoke startled and grabbed his wrists, pushed him down on the bed and pinning them above his head, her body half on his. He was surprised at how fearful her eyes were and how much strength she possessed.

"What are you doing Julian?" her voice trembled slightly, her breathing still labored from the nightmare.

Sark raised an eyebrow. "You were having a nightmare."

Kat appeared confused momentarily but her face was soon blank disguising any remnants of the nightmare. She rolled off him onto her knees and did her best discretely to wipe away the tears from her face.

"Dinner is in ten minutes." Sark stood from the bed, barely acknowledging Kat as he left the room. Once outside he leaned against the wall rubbing his sore wrists.

Kat sank back on the bed ignoring her body's screams of protest. Although she felt much better since taking the insulin and sleeping the better part of the afternoon, her body was still nowhere near recuperation.

She spotted a dress hanging on the back of the bathroom door and walked over to it. Sitting on a nearby chair was a plastic bag containing a few pairs of pants, shirts and sweaters as well as undergarments. On top was a note from Yelena, expressing her hope that they would be a better fit. Kat checked the sizes quickly and was certain that they would be a perfect fit. Yelena also indicated that the dress was for dinner.

Kat slid the dress off the hanger and held it in front of her body in the mirror. It was beautiful: simple, sleeveless, lavender silk ending just above her knees. Apparently, in the Derevko household, you got dressed up for dinner.

Kat changed quickly. The dress clung to her figure in all the right places, fitting perfectly. The matching strappy sandals however, were entirely too small and she opted to go barefoot, rather than forcing her feet into them.

She was the last one to arrive at the table. The others sat patiently around a large rectangular table sipping red wine and discussing Katya's son Alexsei and his wife Anna's pregnancy. Slipping into the empty seat between Sark and Ilya, Kat quickly learned that they were expecting twins.

She had some difficulty following the rapid Russian, Anna and Alexsei spoke and Talya having noticed this took great delight in speaking as fast as she could; at least until Yelena was sitting and ordered the conversation to be switched to English. Although Russian was Kat's first language, she had not been fluent in it since she was a young child, despite brushing up on her skills at the agency. Talya seemed to have a great dislike for her and Kat had to wonder of how she's offended her cousin in the short span of time since she'd been there.

"Katarina, how are you feeling?" Anna asked smiling at her, her accent thick as she spoke. "Lena said you weren't well before."

"Much better thank you." Kat returned her smile finding that she liked Anna quite immediately. "Do you know what you're having?" she asked curiously taking a sip of her ice water.

"Girls," Anna said proudly grinning from ear to ear. "Clara and Cecilia. Not exactly Russian, but we like them."

Katya seated herself at the head of the table, opposite Yelena, and the topic of conversation quickly changed to the weather. Kat found it surprising that none spoke of the research they had been doing that afternoon in the search for the CIA mole. The curiosity was killing her but she refrained from asking about it, choosing to sit back and observe the others rather than interact, unless specifically addressed.

As dinner was served, Kat quickly realized she was entirely out of her league. She was thankful for Ilya who sat to her right and discretely indicated which piece of cutlery was for which dinner course. Studying the fine art of dining hadn't been on the list of training courses at the Farm, though perhaps it should have.

Ilya was quiet during dinner. He spoke when specifically asked a question, but other than that, he refrained from interacting. He appeared to be Russian, although at times his accent was weak demonstrating some time spent in America or Britain; she wasn't quite sure. Kat was certain he had been part of her extraction team, but his face still seemed familiar to her almost as if they had met before. She wasn't sure how or when or if she even had, but right now, she wasn't ruling anything out.

Sark was quiet as well. He couldn't have said more than two-dozen words the entire dinner, though none was directed to her. He seemed to almost ignore Kat and pretend that she didn't exist. It confused her; then again, the entire situation confused her.

Kat picked at her food, eating only the bare necessity she would need to keep her blood sugars level. She trusted Julian and Yelena, perhaps even Ilya and Anna to an extent, but the others… particularly Katya, she did not.

Dinner was surprisingly normal, not that Kat was at all sure of what she would have expected, but world domination and Rambaldi as possible topics of dinner conversation did come to mind.

Following dessert, they all moved to the library where the discussion of the day's research did take place and they all presented the mole suspects they had investigated and eliminated. Kat was thankful to find that Alexei and Ilya had quickly eliminated Dixon, Carrie, and Marshall, while Talya had decided neither JJ nor Agent McShadow were the culprits. Katya had not revealed whom she was investigating, only that her results were inconclusive at the time. However, Kat got the distinct impression as she spoke that Katya had been investigating Sydney and Jack. Kat didn't have any results to report so she listened carefully to the others offering opinions or clarifying information when asked.

After the reports had been given, the conversation turned once again to Alexei and Anna's twins. Katya disapproved of the chosen names making her position quite clear, while Yelena scolded her elder sister telling her to keep her opinions to herself. Her son and daughter-in-law did not seem to be bothered by Katya's disapproval.

Kat, finding the conversation of babies and children far too difficult to endure any longer slipped away seemingly unnoticed by the rest. She wandered barefoot along the hallway studying the various paintings that hung on the walls. It wasn't long before she sank down on the grand staircase, leaning her head against the railing.

"Bored already?"

"Ilya?" Kat drew in a sharp in take of breath at his words. "You startled me."

He noticed her shiver and pulled off his white sweater, dropping it over her head. She smiled gratefully at him and slipped her arms through the sleeves.

"My apologies." He rested his chin on the banister peering down at her. He wanted to ask her if she was all right, regarding the nightmare he had been witness to earlier in the evening; but he didn't dare after having seen Sark's quick exit from her room. "Are you sure you're feeling better you didn't eat much at dinner?"

Kat looked up at him surprised. He seemed genuinely concerned about her. "I'm fine really," she said convincingly.

"Alright then," he moved away.

"Wait," she suddenly burst out turning on the step to face him as he came round the elegant banister.

"Yes?" His eyes were dark and dull in the dim light and hid any surprise as to her sudden outburst.

"Who are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly that, who are you? How do you fit in here? Did I know you when I was a little? What?"

"You're trying to make my involvement much more complicated than it really is." He sat down beside her on the stairs.

"What is your involvement?"

"I am simply an employee."

"Nothing is ever simple," she rolled her eyes.

"Believe what you want," Ilya shrugged and stood. Making his way towards the end of the hallway, he sat on the window seat below an open arched window and lit a cigarette.

"That's cryptic," she followed and took a seat beside him, curling her legs underneath her.

"What is it that you really want, or do you even know?" Ilya took a long drag of his cigarette and watched as the smoke circled and moved out the open window.

"Have I met you before?"

"So many questions," he mused flicking the ash from his smoke into a nearby flowerpot. "It's not the answers you seek, but merely the opportunity and knowledge to ask more questions."

Kat had no response for that which Ilya apparently found to be rather amusing. "Can I have one?" she held out her hand.

"One what?" he raised an eyebrow.

"A smoke."

"You smoke?" he questioned, but handed her one anyways.

Kat leaned forward with the cigarette in her mouth as Ilya lit it. She took a quick drag and exhaled quickly, not having smoked in a long time. Her hand shook slightly as she brought the cigarette to her lips several times and soon it steadied. "I smoke when I'm stressed," she informed him before taking a much longer drag. "It calms me down."

"It's a filthy habit," Sark interrupted plucking the smoke from between her lips and crushing it in the flowerpot.

"I think we should talk about your bad habits," Kat reached for another cigarette from the pack, but Sark grabbed it and handed it back to Ilya.

"I need to speak with Katarina."

The emphasis was on Katarina and Ilya took it as his cue to leave.

"Aren't you in a royally bad mood?"

"I generally am when I find children smoking."

"I'm not a child." She looked up noticing the seriousness of his features and saw a small overnight bag beside the stairwell. "What's going on?" she asked. "Are you going away?"

He nodded and sat down on the bench beside her. "I have some business to attend to, I will be gone a short while, only a day or two."

"You're leaving me with them?"

"Katia, they're your family, not the enemy."

"Easy for you to say, you're on their side."

"This isn't about sides. Yelena will take care of you and if you have any problems while I'm gone, you can speak with Ilya." His cell phone interrupted them and he stood to take the call.

While Sark spoke quietly on the phone, Kat turned back to the window pretending not to listen to his conversation, but in actual fact, she was committing every word to memory. Sark caught on quickly and moved away from her lowering his voice even more. Kat caught snippets of the conversation and while she didn't know whom he was speaking to, she was positive that they were talking about her.

She wasn't sure what was more unnerving, the fact that he was talking about her or that she didn't know who it was.

"Katia?" Sark stood across from her holding out the phone.

"Who is it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Irina."

"I'm not speaking to her," Kat shook her head.

"Take the phone," he instructed.

"Absolutely not."

"Stop acting like a child and speak to your mother!" Sark thrust the phone into her hands and she had no choice but to comply.

"What?"

"Katarina, I'm your mother. The least you could do is show me some respect," Irina scolded her.

"Respect is something that is earned. You have done nothing to achieve that."

"Very well then," Irina could not disagree with her daughter. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Kat replied flatly.

"Sark informed me that you nearly fainted earlier today. Please be more careful about your sugars," Irina requested. "If there is anything you require, ask Yelena or Katya."

"Why do you pretend like you care?" Kat interrupted and stood as she switched the cell phone to her other ear.

"I'm not going to argue about this with you right now. You are my daughter, I raised you."

"Five years and birth hardly qualifies you as a mother." Kat could detect the rise in Irina's tone of voice. "That doesn't give you any rights."

"Katarina stop."

"Why, I'm only telling the truth. You claim to love me, but if you really did, wouldn't you be here?"

"Circumstances currently prevent me from being there. If I could be, then I would. Sark has access to all my contacts and…"

"What was that?" Kat interrupted covering her other ear with her hand in order to hear better.

"What?"

"That noise… I thought I heard…" Kat sat back down on the window seat attempting to process what she'd just heard, or at least thought she'd heard.

"Yes?"

Was it her imagination or did Irina's voice almost seem nervous, breathless. "Nothing," she said shrugging. "What is it that you really want?"

"I want to know how you are, Katy."

"First, I told you not to call me that and second I said that I was fine. Is there anything more because if not I'd really like to go back to pretending this conversation never happened."

"Put Sark back on the phone please and Katy…I…"

"What?"

"I-be careful please. We'll find out who is trying to harm you I promise."

"Good bye."

Kat's voice seemed especially cold to Irina and she was sure that if it were possible, her daughter would be encased in ice.

Kat handed the phone back to Sark and returned her attention to the window. Sark spoke with Irina for a few minutes longer before hanging up.

"You could at least be civil to her," Sark said disapprovingly as he pocketed his cell phone.

"I could… but we both know it certainly wouldn't be as much fun now would it. When are you coming back?" she asked changing the subject.

"Tomorrow night, the next morning at the latest I think."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to meet with a contact," Sark picked up his bag and turned to face Kat. "If anything happens Yelena can contact me, but I'm sure you'll be just fine. Why don't you go out and see the gardens, perhaps go for a ride, the grounds are beautiful this time of year."

"Maybe," she shrugged, rather unsure about the idea of exploring the Derevko home. She might get her head cut off for touching something she shouldn't.

"Katia," he touched her cheek drawing his thumb gently along the bruise circling her jaw line. "You'll be fine."

"Julian, why do you…"

"Good bye Katia," he interrupted fully aware of the question she was about to ask. Sark was out the door before she could stop him. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer her question; the truth was that he just didn't know. It had just seemed natural for him to call her Katia.

Kat watched him go and then sank down on the steps with a sigh, wishing that Ilya would return so she could have another smoke. Perhaps she would explore the grounds, but not tonight. She was tired and only wanted to go to sleep

xxxxxxxxx

"What do you mean she called you?" Sydney demanded.

Vaughn took a seat on a metal folding chair in the warehouse building that had quickly become the center for Kat's search.

"She called Marshall, I spoke to her, and she's okay,"

"Are you sure?"

"She said she was and I don't think she was lying."

"What exactly did she say Agent Vaughn?" Jack interrupted.

"Not a lot," he admitted. "Only that she was fine. She wouldn't tell me whom she was with or where, just that she couldn't come back until she found out who set her up. Kat said that the people she was with were helping her."

"Did she mention Sark?" Weiss asked.

"Not specifically," Vaughn shook his head. "But honestly who else could she be with; we all saw what happened when she saw him in Morocco. She did admit to lying to us about him." He looked to Sydney apologetically, "she said she was sorry."

"Did you trace the call?" Weiss asked. "Why not?" he burst out after Vaughn shook his head.

"Weiss, if Kat is with Sark, the call would have been untraceable and if I tried, Brandon would have been notified and he'd know right away that it was her."

"Agent Vaughn is right." Jack resumed his seat. "All we can do is continue our own investigation and wait until she contacts us again."

"But."

"Our hands are tied Sydney," Jack interrupted her. "Your sister is on her own."

10


	5. Chapter Four

Absolution  
Chapter 4

The early morning breeze blew over Kat's shoulders causing her to shiver as her dew-laden shoes made their way across the cobblestone garden path. She walked across the rich field of grass to the fenced stables.

Kat couldn't sleep anymore. She got up just as the sun was rising and decided to do as Sark suggested the night before and explore the grounds.

Surprisingly no one stopped her on her way out. She'd passed right by the old butler and a housekeeper who'd both bid her good morning, and right out the front door. Were it not for the two guards she'd seen patrolling the lane, she'd have thought the estate completely lacked any security measures.

The barn door was open slightly and it groaned quietly as she pushed it open and stepped inside. The horses reacted to her presence immediately and began snorting and requesting her attention by sticking their heads above the stall doors.

She noted their names as she walked along the barn. Stargazer, Gloria, Tesss, and Laina were only four of the seven. The last horse on the left was named Chance and as Kat neared him, he stuck his head above the door neighing loudly. He was beautiful, or so she thought. He was a dark chestnut brown with sleek coat and huge dark eyes. She'd never seen a horse that close up before so she didn't have any to compare him to.

Tentatively she reached her hand out to touch his neck and after hesitating twice, she managed to stroke him. When she drew her hand away, the horse startled her by neighing loudly, tapping at the stall door with his hoof, thrusting his head forward and nudging her arm.

"Don't be afraid." Ilya's calming voice came from the doorway. He moved to stand beside Kat and reached his hand out so the horse could smell his scent.

"Chance is somewhat of a ladies man, a flirt if you will."

Kat had to smile at the way the words sounded with Ilya's accent.

"He seeks female attention for the most part."

Kat watched with slight alarm as Ilya stood behind her and took her hand covering it with his own and raising it. Chance sniffed her open palm before butting the back of her arm with his snout.

"Don't be afraid," Ilya said softly in her ear and guided her palm up the horse's long snout as he spoke. "All he wants is for you to scratch behind his ears."

Kat could feel a shiver of excitement run through her body as she scratched behind Chance's ears and he swung his head back and forth obviously enjoying her actions.

"Ilya, do you know where Sark went?" she asked quietly. When he didn't answer, Kat looked up and saw that his hand had stilled and his eyes were fixed on the scars upon the underside of her arm. "Ilya?" she called his name louder this time and broke him out of his trance like state.

"Yes?"

"Is everything okay?" she asked glancing down at her arm.

"Of course," his hand dropped to his side.

"Do you know where Sark went?" she repeated her question. "Hey," she exclaimed jumping back; the moment interrupted by Chance who decided to nuzzle her neck and nip slightly on her cheek.

"I told you he was a flirt," Ilya laughed and pushed Chance's head away from Kat's neck. "Do you want to go riding before breakfast?" he asked.

"I don't know how to, I've never been."

"It's alright, I'll take you." Ilya nudged her away from the stall. "You'll have fun. I'll meet you out front."

Kat nodded and walked out the barn. Ilya appeared moments later on the other side of the fence, leading the horse by its bridle.

"There's no saddle, I'll fall off," Kat protested gazing at the large animal.

"You won't," Ilya promised. He mounted the horse and held out his hand motioning for her to step up on the fence. Hesitantly Kat did so and Ilya lifted her to sit in front of him.

Kat grabbed hold of the horse's mane as Ilya instructed and held tightly. With one hand around Kat's waist, he held the reigns with the other and nudged Chance across the field.

"See," Ilya said softly. "It's not so bad."

Kat ran her hand down the horse's neck, feeling the strong animal beneath her touch. Her eyes travelled up to the horizon where the sun was still rising. It seemed so unreal that she was here. People were searching around the world for her and she was safe, riding a horse for the first time. She shivered slightly.

"Cold?"

Kat didn't answer. Ilya's arm tightened around her waist drawing her closer to him and Kat relaxed against his chest, feeling surprisingly safe. The feeling only lasted for a moment as the horse picked up speed and began galloping across the field, faster and faster.

"The fence! Ilya?"

Kat tried to twist her head up to see his face but the horse was going too fast. He was headed straight toward a wooden fence.

"Ilya!"

They flew over the fence. Kat screamed. On the other side, Ilya slowed the horse to a stop as Kat struggled to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" he asked after he'd stopped laughing.

"Why did you do that?"

"It makes you feel alive."

Ilya's voice was a mere whisper in her ear and she smiled as always at the accent in his voice. Kat stared out over the countryside before her. In the distance, she could see a small cottage belonging to the nearest neighbours. "It's beautiful out here. It doesn't seem like Russia at all."

"Why don't you like Russia?" Ilya asked.

"Everything bad always happens in Russia," she answered simply. "Why does Talia hate me?"

"It's not you precisely," Ilya laughed, his voice echoing in the silent air. "Talia is 23 and…boy crazy as you Americans say. She's been after Sark, since the day she turned thirteen."

"You've known them that long?" Kat reached down tracing her finger over the ring he wore on his right index finger; the scripted design seemed familiar. "Who are you really Ilya?" she asked.

Ilya clucked his tongue and Chance took off in a slow gallop around the field ignoring Kat's question as he always did. He soon spotted Yelena waiting near the gate, her arms crossed over her chest and she did not look pleased.

"I think we're in for it," Kat said softly.

"No, just me."

Ilya slowed Chance to a walk and came up to the fence.

"Ilya, what were you thinking?" Yelena took the bridle reins from Ilya and he slid off the horse. "Not even a saddle, you know I don't like that and Katarina is in no condition to be galloping across the countryside. She still has injuries."

"Lena, it's okay," Kat protested. "I'm fine, I wanted to go." She held onto Ilya's shoulders as he lifted her down from the horse.

"Ilya knows better," Yelena shot him a disapproving motherly type glare. "Your body is still healing. Now come inside for breakfast, everyone is waiting."

"Everybody?"

"Well, everyone other than my sister and her daughter. They don't dare grace us with their presence before noon."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me," she said it with a faint laugh and glanced up at Lena; she liked her. Perhaps Yelena was the only good Derevko amongst all the bad.

"Katia," a voice called to her. "Katia, wake up."

Kat rolled over blinking through squinted eyes in the early morning light. Her shoulder still ached slightly when she slept on it. It had been a week and a half since Katya and the others had taken her and a full week since Sark had disappeared on business. Aside from Yelena, Ilya was her only companion and had taken her horseback riding every morning since the first, a week before. She avoided Talia as much as possible and got to know Anna and Alexei better, but she found it difficult to spend time with them as much of the focus was on their babies.

"Katia, wake up," the voice repeated.

"Julian?"

"Yes." He was impatient. "Are you awake?"

"Yes." She moaned stretching her arms and glanced at the clock. "It's barely six o'clock. You've been gone for a week and you didn't call, not once."

"Get dressed." He was brusque in his demeanour as he placed some clothes on the bed. "Put these on and go to Yelena. We leave in twenty minutes, hurry."

Kat sat up quickly. "What's going on?" she yelled after Sark but he was gone.

"I look ridiculous." Kat pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She scrutinized her appearance in the mirror.

Yelena secured a rubber band at the end of a braided pigtail. She grabbed the next section, braiding it to match. "It's not that bad," she eyed the mirror.

"Lena, I look like I'm twelve." Kat tugged on an overall strap attempting to tighten it, not that it did much good.

"I think that's the idea," Ilya remarked from his position in the doorway. He held out a passport. "You were born twelve years ago."

Kat took it from his hand. "What's going on?"

"I know as much as you," he said shrugging his shoulders. "Sark woke me a several hours ago to make it."

Kat spotted a small overnight bag on the floor. "Lena?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I have my own business to attend to and you need to go. Sark is waiting in the car."

Kat nodded and ran out of Lena's room and down the stairs as quickly as she could. A car waited at the front door driven by (NAME? OR SOMETHING) who looked like one of Sark's guards. Kat had barely closed the door when it took off, tires squealing.

"Sark, what's going on?" Kat demanded. She looked curiously at his attire, a pair of faded jeans, and black t-shirt.

Sark noticed the stressed reference to his name. Kat was pissed. "We're going to Australia."

"Why."

"I obtained information regarding the identity of the Covenant's mole."

"The one who set me up?"

"Yes."

"We went over the files while you were gone, more than once each, we couldn't find anything," Kat said wondering what he had been able to find out that they couldn't.

"We were looking for the wrong information."

"He wasn't in those files?"

"He was."

Sark's answer confirmed the sex of the CIA's traitor. "Who?"

He shook his head. "Not until we have proof."

Kat leaned back in the seat opposite Sark. "Why are you so secretive?"

"What if I'm mistaken?" he asked. "Can you handle that? Can you go back to the CIA and not have a suspicion?"

Kat twisted in her seat and stared out the tinted window for a few moments. She looked at him. "What's the plan?"

"For starters, I'm David Williams. I'm taking my little sister Isabelle on a trip to Australia, our parents just died." Sark placed a black baseball hat on his head backward and tossed her a red one. "Put this on and pay attention."

7


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N Reviews for this fic have fallen considerably from its prequel Redemption. I may no longer be putting it on this site unless reviews pick up, so if you're reading, let me know**

Absolution

Chapter Five

Sark gripped her hand tightly as they wove amongst busy travellers at the airport. Kat walked behind him and he pulled her along with a gentle force. They couldn't miss the connecting flight to Sydney, Australia.

"Izzy, hurry up."

Kat caught up to Sark. Her rubber soled tennis shoes smacked against the floor and stopped once they reached the security gates.

Sark pulled the backwards baseball hat of Kat's head and repositioned it in its correct form. Kat looked at him, a red braid swinging over her shoulder. "Keep your head down," he whispered.

"You look like a kid," Kat whispered.

"So do you." Sark nudged her forwards He glanced up to the side and saw a security camera. He ducked his head. "The CIA will be looking for a young woman, not a child."

"You're nervous." Kat took his hand again. "Why didn't we take a private plane?"

"It would raise suspicion."

Kat studied the arrival and departure board. "Don't worry, the flight is delayed anyways, we won't miss it." Sark didn't respond; he was checking his phone messages. "Jul-"

"Isabelle," Sark interrupted. He squeezed Kat's hand tightly reminding her not to use his name. He nudged her forwards, "your turn."

Kat passed the attendant Isabelle's passport. She held her breath waiting for the document to be identified as a fake, or for the official to declare there wasn't a possibility that she was twelve years old; nothing happened.

After passing through the security clearance, Sark grabbed Kat's hand pulling her. She had to run to keep up with him. There was urgency within him that she couldn't understand.

"Are you ready?"

Whether she was or not, didn't matter. She had to be. "Yes."

Sark handed her a gun. "Don't hesitate to use it."

Kat held the gun in her hands feeling the weight of it. Even though she had been on several missions since officially joining the CIA, she had yet to use a gun in the field.

"Focus."

Sark's voice drew her attention back to him and she slid the gun in the waistband of her pants.

"Let's go." He opened the van door and she jumped out. She and Sark were breaking into a Covenant facility located within a shipping office building. He hadn't told her exactly why, although she had to assume it was to obtain information on the mole. Sark had been rather secretive about the entire operation and it unnerved her.

Kat followed closely behind Sark. They stopped first at a communications box where Sark cut and looped the video feeds. Crouching, they followed a low stone wall along the perimeter of the building before climbing over it and disabling two security guards. They made their way to a disabled fire exit and entered the building.

Sark nodded to a duct opening and Kat immediately set to work using a screwdriver to pry off the opening. As her fingers twisted the screws off, it suddenly occurred to her that Sark hadn't given her any instructions; she just knew what to do. She trusted him; she knew him.

Sark lifted her up and quickly she scrambled into the opening. He followed closely behind. They moved slowly, staying silent. Noise would alert security guards. Finally, Sark nodded to another duct opening and Kat unscrewed the bolts, slipping the cover off. She was grateful for the clean air. Sark jumped down first and held out his arms to her catching her as she slid out of the duct.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

"Records." Sark nodded to a filling cabinet. "We're need information on a bank account. The number is 38826747. Start there."

Kat rifled through the paper files not having any luck but several minutes later, Sark had located the file they needed on a computer. He copied the information onto a removable hard drive.

"Someone's coming," Kat heard footsteps in the hallway.

Sark lifted Kat pushing her into the duct and climbed up without a moment to spare.

The guard entering the room giving it a quick glance over. "There's something wrong with that scanner," he spoke into his radio. "There's no one here, mates."

The guard left the room quickly and Sark and Kat wasted no time in getting the hell out of there. It was surprisingly easy for the two to leave the Covenant facility, at least until a guard emerged from around the side of the van, his gun aimed at Sark.

The guard never saw Kat coming as she kicked the gun out of his hands and forced him to the ground.

"Don't." Kat pushed Sark's gun away.

Sark had fully intended on shooting the guard, but he didn't. He pistol whipped him on the side of the head instead.

"Do not question me." Sark slid the gun in the waistband of his pants and got into the van. He slammed the door and pulled off his mask tossing it on the floor between the seats.

Kat got into the passenger seat quietly. "Julian, I-"

Sark revved the gas pedal hard and the lurch left Kat silent for the remainder of their trip to the airport.

Sydney dumped a cup of cat food into Oliver's bowl and shook it, calling the kitten to her. Jack had dropped him off several days before having no time to care for him in Kat's absence. That responsibility was not left up to Sydney, Vaughn or Will, whoever happened to be around at the time.

Sydney scratched the cat's back as Oliver ate his dinner, switching his tail back and forth contently. A knock sounded at the door.

"Dad?" Sydney was surprised to see him. He hadn't mentioned coming over that evening. "What is it? Did you find any information on Kat?

Jack nodded and stepped into the house. He set his laptop on the kitchen counter and sat on a stool.

"Do you want a drink?" Sydney asked grabbing a bottle of tequila from the cupboard.

"No," Jack answered quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Sydney." Jack frowned, watching Oliver jump onto the counter. "Did you sister teach him this?"

"I think she lets him sit there when she eats her cereal," Sydney explained. "He keeps trying to get at Will's."

"Sugar coated something no doubt," Jack remarked.

"Frosted Flakes," she said with a laugh and picked Oliver up settling him quickly in her lap. "What did you find?"

Jack opened a video file. "This is security camera footage from an airport in Australia, early this morning."

"Is that Sark?" Sydney pulled the laptop closer and squinted at the image.

"I believe so." Jack froze the picture and pointed at a figure beside Sark. "I believe this is your sister."

Sydney studied the video, and then rewound it watching again. "It could be," she said finally. "You can't see her face but the body structure and height look the same and the pigtails look red." Sark turned his face now partially visible to the camera. "That's definitely Sark, if he hurts her-"

"Sydney," Jack interrupted. "It seems that Katarina is going with him quite willingly."

"But why?"

"The better question would be what is in Australia?"

Kat took the phone Sark handed her.

"You know what to do?" he asked.

"Are you sure it's him?"

"Katia," Sark sighed deeply. She seemed almost regretful at finding the truth. "The records clearly show it is him. Now, are you ready to do this?"

"Isn't there another way?" she knew there wasn't.

"You need a confession; your CIA isn't likely to believe these records.

Kat nodded knowing he was right and dialled the number. On the third ring a male voice answered.

"Hi… it's me Kat, I didn't know who else to call. I need help; I need your help. I didn't do what they said I did… I got away from the people who took me. I can't go to my dad or Sydney. You're the only one I can trust. Please help me."

"Where are you?" the voice asked.

"France, I found this old run down factory in the countryside, just outside of Lyon."

"What's the name?"

"Le Remendare, I think they made car parts or something. Are you going to help me?"

Kat's voice trembled as if she were crying, whether or not it was true, Sark didn't know; she'd turned her back to him.

"Yes." She sniffled a little. "I'll wait."

Kat turned ended the call and turned back to Sark a few moments later. "Tomorrow, at noon, he'll be here." She handed the phone back to him and began walking to the door.

"Katia?"

"Just, leave me alone right now."

The door slammed shut behind her and Sark decided not to follow. She needed time to deal with the betrayal of a man she'd thought a friend. He sat on the edge of a tarnished metal table and opened his phone dialling Katya's cell phone. She was waiting for his call and answered on the first ring.

"Is it done?"

"Yes," Sark responded. "She's meeting him at noon tomorrow. We'll be in Russia by the next morning. I'll call tomorrow." He ended the call without another word.

As soon as Jack stepped onto the path up to the house, he knew something was amiss; a light in the living room was on. As he neared the front door, he could hear the soft melody of the piano. The door unlocked and a woman sat, at the piano, her back to him, her fingers moving delicately over the keys.

Irina.

It was old music, nothing his daughter would play, and wasn't Tchaikovsky, Beethoven or Mozart. It was Russian that he was sure of. He waited in the hallway, watching as she played the final keys; Jack realized she knew he was there.

"How did you get in?"

She played a few notes, the beginning of another song, but never quite begun. "Your daughter gave me the code."

It wasn't Irina's voice.

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

The woman's head turned slightly. "Yelena?"

She stood at the mention of her name and turned to face him. "It's nice to finally meet you Jack. Please, Lena is fine.

"Where is my daughter?"

"She's fine."

"She's with Sark." Jack took several steps towards her closing the distance.

"She's safe." Yelena's voice was somehow reassuring. "She's out proving her innocence."

"Why are you here?"

"I've brought you something." Yelena retrieved a shoebox from beside the piano bench and handed it to Jack.

He opened it. "Video tapes? Did Irina send you?"

"No," Yelena slid her arms into the sleeves of her coat. "Sark did. He's given you somewhat of a gift, an insight into their pasts."

"A gift?"

"The tapes reveal as much about your daughter's past as they do his."

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "I want to speak to my daughter."

"Katarina is safe with him," Yelena tried to reassure Jack, though she knew her attempt was in vain. "Jack, I wouldn't let any harm come to Irina's daughter; she trusts him, I trust him."

"I want to speak to her."

"I don't have a way of contacting her." Yelena slid the strap of her purse onto her shoulder. "Just watch the tapes Jack, perhaps you might learn something."

Jack turned and watched as Yelena walked to the front door. "You're not at all like them." Yelena stopped and turned, awaiting an explanation. "Your sisters," Jack continued. "You're not at all what I expected."

"Well, perhaps you need to be a little more open minded."

There was a slight upturn of his lips. "I'll take that into consideration."

"You do that." Yelena walked down the path. "Good bye Jack Bristow."

Jack closed the door behind Yelena and immediately went to the living room and put a tape in the VCR. It was security type footage. The tape was black and white, old and grainy, but Jack clearly recognized his daughter. On the screen, Katarina looked to be barely four years old. She looked strong and healthy, average of any four year old, unlike the small stature she held today in comparison to others her age. Her eyes seemed vacant, dark depths that he couldn't see into. A boy who appeared about ten years old with a mop of curly blond hair entered…Sark. He sat down at a table with Kat.

Neither of the children seemed to be entirely with it. Sark's eyes wandered lazily about the room, while Katarina stared at the wall or the floor. A guard entered the room depositing two small boxes on the table in front of the children. The guard gave a command and the children snapped into action opening the boxes and pulling out the pieces of a gun and assembling them. Sark was faster than Kat, his older, longer, fingers quicker and more dexterous, but Kat wasn't far behind.

Jack spent hours that night examining the tapes Sark had sent with Yelena. Each tape revealed more of their training, the hours Alexander Khasinau had spent conditioning both children, moulding them using Project Christmas methods into the he wanted them to become. The agents they had become, despite the opposite sides they chose to fight for.

Kat paced the factory floor slowly. Her arms crossed over her chest prevented her from gingerly touching the small cut above her cheekbone, a fresh mark she'd caused herself. Her clothes were dirty, her hair tangled and loose and her cheeks stained with dirt and tears. She looked every bit the girl who'd had a rough week escaping from enemy captors.

It was almost time for the meet. She didn't need to look at her watch to know that. She heard the car and reached for her gun holding it down at her side. Her hand trembled slightly and she pressed it against her side stilling it, she couldn't allow him to be suspicious.

His steps were heavy on the cement ground, echoing through the empty building. She tensed as they approached her and then stopped. Slowly she turned to face him, her fingers adjusting their grip on the gun.

His eyes travelled down to the gun questioning it.

"Sorry," she said softly and tucked it in the back of her pants. "It's been a rough week." Kat stepped towards him, the mole.

"Hi."

9


	7. Chapter 7

I will no longer be posting this fic on but please visit SD-1(dot)net and allalias(dot)com to read it. It is posted in the general fanfiction section


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